Cousins
by Keita78
Summary: This is a story that shows what happens when the Gravitation world collides with the world of Hikaru no Go. Hikaru & Schuichi are cousins. Schuichi and his friends "help" Hikaru & Akira realize their feelings for each other. What will the outcome be?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

**Chapter One**

**A Day Out**

_What is taking him so long? _He reached into his coat pocket and took out a small cardboard box and lighter. He popped out a cigarette from the carton and took it out with his mouth. He lit the cigarette and put the carton and the lighter away. He breathed in deeply and let out a puff of smoke. Yuki Eri was leaning up against his car waiting for his companion Shindo Schuichi to finish shopping.

It was a bright, sunny, Sunday afternoon. There were only a few clouds floating in the clear, blue sky above with just a hint of a warm breeze. It was the perfect day to be outside. Since both Yuki and Schuichi had free time that day they decided to run errands together. This was their last stop before going home. Yuki was getting tired and so decided to wait for Schuichi to finish his shopping. _Really now, what the hell is he doing? It's not that hard to buy that new shirt you've been wanting for the past week. _Yuki started to get impatient_. Well, if he isn't out in the next two minutes, I'm leaving. _Yuki looked at his wrist watch, folded his arms and kept his eyes on the store.

_Why do I have to do this? Doesn't she know I have better things to do than shop for her? "_You'll be in the area Hikaru" he said in a high-pitched, mocking voice trying to imitate his mother. Shindo Hikaru just left the Go Association and was walking down the street by himself. He finished playing a match against a 4-dan and won. It wasn't much of a challenge for him, even though he was only a 1st-dan. If only he hadn't miss all those matches a couple of months ago. Then he would be playing more challenging opponents. And he would be able to face Toya Akira sooner than having to wait God knows how long. _Toya Akira. Stop thinking about Toya! It's only going to drive you crazy. Just focus on your game now. You'll be facing Toya soon! _Hikaru tried to take his thoughts away from Go and concentrated onlooking for the bookstore. _It has to be around here somewhere._

Hikaru walked down the street further and found the store. He swung his yellow backpack around to his front, unzipped a compartment and took out a folded piece of paper. He zipped up his bag and returned it onto his back. He walked up to the doors of the bookstore and they slid open for him. He went inside. Hikaru stood there. Looking around, he wasn't sure where to go. He opened the piece of paper that had written on it, '_Always _by Eri Yuki'. "Now where would this be?" He decided he'd better ask someone for help. It would probably take him all day just to find this book.

"E-excuse me?" Hikaru walked up to the front counter where there were a couple of employees.

"Can I help you?" One of the girls asked.

Yes, I need to find this book. Can you help me find it?" Hikaru handed the girl the piece of paper. The girl took it and looked at it.

"Oh, yes. I know this book. You're in luck we should have a few copies left. I'll show you where it is." The girl came out from behind the counter and proceeded down one of the isles. Hikaru followed. They stopped a little ways down. She picked up a book and handed it to Hikaru. "Here you go." She said politely and with a smile. Hikaru took the book from her hands. "Thanks." Hikaru said. "No problem. Just let me know if you need anymore help." The girl walked away.

Hikaru looked at the book. _So this is the book my mom wants. _Hikaru examined it closely. It was plain looking. The jacket was all white with silver lettering for the title.He looked at the bookshelf from where the girl took the book from. There were several copies in a neat display of the book _'Always'. _He saw many more books written by the same author behind the big stack that was right in front of him. _Wow, this guy's written a lot! Must be some old guy to have written this much. _Hikaru opened the back cover of the book he was holding to read the Author biography. He scanned it quickly.

"23!" Hikaru said out loud. "The guy's only 23 and he's already written this much!? Man, he must like to write a lot if he has this many books out."

Hikaru looked at the self again. A book caught his eye that was placed next to the book he was holding for his mother. This book was also stacked with several copies of the same title. He picked it up and studied it. The picture on the cover was that of two boys in what looked like high school uniforms. One boy had his arm around the other boy_. 'Rivals by Usami Akihiko'_. Huh. I wonder what this is all about. He placed the book he was buying for his mother back down on the shelf. He began flipping through the book. He stopped at a random page and began reading.

"…..as they stared intently at one another. The tension between them grew more and more as the seconds past. Misaki knew he was loosing but he didn't want to give up without a fight. He had to think of something quick. Akihiko chuckled.

"W-why are you laughing?" Misaki asked trying to keep his composure.

Akihiko looked deep into Misaki's eyes.

"There's no escaping now."

Misaki's eyes grew wide. He couldn't believe it. _Here? Now? _Misaki felt the pressure of Akihiko beginning to enter him. Pain and pleasure ran through Misaki…"

Hikaru slammed the book shut. He stared straight ahead, in total shock. _I didn't just read that!_ _This isn't what I think it is, right? Two guys doing..…no, I actually don't want to think about it! _Hikaru squeezed his eyes shut, trying to purge the memory from his mind of what he just read. After a few moments he opened his eyes and realized he still held the book. He began to blush. He quickly put the book back where he had gotten it from.

"Just down that way," Hikaru heard the female employee speaking to someone else. He didn't bother to look up to see who she was talking to. Hikaru picked up the book that he was going to buy for his mother.

"Shindo?"

Hikaru looked in the direction of the person calling his name. "Toya! W-what are you doing here?" Hikaru asked, surprised to see his Go rival in the same bookstore as him.

'You had a match today. How did you do?" Akira asked.

"I won, of course!" Hikaru started to get serious. "Don't worry, I'll catch up to you soon enough." Hikaru's facial expression was that of sheer determination as he faced Akira there in the bookstore.

"So, what brings you here?" Akira changed the subject. "I see you're buying a book. Which one is it?" Akira took the book that was in Hikaru's hand. "Um…" Hikaru wasn't expecting Akira to take the book from him. Akira looked at it. "Do you like these kinds of books?"

"These kinds of books?" Hikaru asked puzzled, since he wasn't sure what kind of books they were in the first place.

"Yes, this author is famous for his romance novels."

"R-r-romance novels?" The passage he just read in the novel _'Rivals' _was running through his head. Hikaru closed his eyes again to try to get himself to stop thinking about it. "This is a r-r-romance novel?" Hikaru blushed again. _It can't be the same type of novel I unfortunately had to read._ His mom was making him buy this kind of book? _How can she do that to me? _Hikaru opened his eyes and grabbed the book out of Akira's hand. "I'm buying this for someone!" Hikaru yelled, walked past Akira in a huff, down the isle and to the front counter to pay for the book.

Hikaru left the bookstore in a bad mood. Out of all people, why did he have to run into Akira at the bookstore? He began stomping down the street. _I could only imagine what he must think of me now. Buying a romance novel. I'm never doing this for my mom again!_

"Shindo, wait!" Akira was yelling from behind. He was running to catch up to Hikaru.

Hikaru stopped walking. He didn't turn around to face Akira. "What do you want Toya? Go ahead and make fun of me all you want."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Akira asked Hikaru, not knowing what he was so upset about.

"I see how it is. You want me to say it! Fine! Well for your information I didn't buy this for me." Hikaru turned around to face Akira and held up the bag with the book in it. "It's for my mom, ok?"

"Well, I got the same book." Akira lifted the bag up that he was holding. "I also had to purchase it for my mother."

Hikaru didn't expect this at all from Akira. _He had to buy the same book for his mom too? _Hikaru felt his anger growing. He couldn't face Akira anymore. He didn't know what to say anyway. Hikaru turned around and continued walking down the street.

"You're lucky you came out when you did. I was right about to leave." Yuki's tone was harsh as he spoke to Schuichi. This was nothing new to Yuki's lover. "Oh I wasn't that long, and besides I found another shirt I really wanted and had to choose between them."

"Why didn't you get both? It would have saved us a lot of time?"

"Oh I couldn't get both. It had to be one or the other. It was a really hard decision though. I wish you came in with me to help me out…." Schuichi just kept talking. Yuki ignored him. He could feel his temper rising. Yuki put his hand up to his forehead and sighed trying to calm himself down.

"…..that was the whole point of us going out together. But since I'm done, we can go home now, Yuki." Schuichi finally finished talking. _When will this day end?_ Yuki felt drained all of a sudden.

Schuichi opened the passenger side car door. He put the bag he was carrying in the back seat. Yuki was making his way to the other side of the car.

"Wait, Shindo!"

"Huh?" This startled Schuichi. Yuki stopped before he could open the car door. They both looked in the direction the voice was coming from.

"Please Stop!" They heard someone shouting. They located two boys walking quickly down the street, with one trying to catch up to the other. Schuichi observed as they came to a halt practically right in front of him and Yuki. He immediately began to pay special attention to the young man with brown and blonde hair.

"Shindo," Akira said, impatience filling his voice. Hikaru stopped. He turned around. "Why are you following me?"

"I don't understand why you're so angry with me."

"Angry? I'm not angry with you." Hikaru noticed Akira's expression changing to one he had so rarely seen before. He wasn't sure what he was seeing was real. Akira was smiling. "Uh….Akira?"

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"What?"

"You're still uncomfortable about what happened back at the bookstore right? That must have been your first experience. I remember mine. It was two years ago when…."

"Ahh, I don't want to hear it!" Hikaru screamed.

"I'm just trying to help, Shindo." Akira's tone was even.

'Well I didn't ask for your help!" Hikaru said condescendingly.

This immediately upset Akira. He could no longer hold back the abrupt irritation that welled up inside him in that instance. 'I don't understand why you're overreacting like this." Akira began yelling at Hikaru. "You're acting like a child!"

"I'm acting like a child!?" Hikaru took great offense to this. "This is actually all your fault!"

"What are you blaming me for!?"

"If you hadn't shown up, none of this would've happened!"

"That had nothing to do with it! You're just too self conscious!"

"I don't need to take this from you!"

"Well neither do I!"

"I'm going home!" Hikaru screamed even louder than he was before, disturbing the stream of passersby. Akira matched Hikaru's pitch and tone. "As am I!"

In unison, Hikaru and Akira turned around and stomped off in opposite directions each one fuming from the quarrel that had just taken place. Schuichi's eyes followed Hikaru as he carried on down the street.

"Hey, let's get going." Yuki opened the car door and got in. Schuichi kept his gaze on Hikaru. "Hey! Come on!"

"Oh, sorry." Schuichi climbed into the car and closed the door. They drove off down the road heading home.

"He a relative of yours?" Yuki asked Schuichi.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Well, the last name kinda gave it away. But the way he acted reminded me of someone I know. Who is he?"

"He's my little cousin, Hikaru. We used to play a lot when we were younger. I haven't seen him in years. I wonder how he's doing."

"From what we both witnessed, not very well."

"I've never seen him act like that with a friend before."

"It appeared to be more than just a friendship the way they were behaving."

"You think so? You think my cousin and that kid are seeing each other?" Schuichi laughed at the thought that his cousin Hikaru was interested in a guy just like him. " I should stop by and pay Hikaru a visit soon since I haven't seen him in quite some time." _I guess we have one more thing in common._

"Man, what is it with you and your family?"

"Huh? What do you mean Yuki?"

Yuki sighed. "Never mind. So, what do you want for dinner?"


	2. Chapter 2

Cousins

**Cousins**

Schuichi walked down the quiet, empty street trying to locate his cousin's house. Everything looked the same from when he was here last. It was almost 5:00 in the evening. Since Yuki would be out late tonight this would be the perfect time to visit Hikaru.

He passed by several houses. He could find Hikaru's house by locating the two colorful windsocks hanging by Hikaru's bedroom window. As he turned his head to his right, he immediately spotted the fish and rainbow streamer windsocks that were blowing in the light breeze just up ahead. Schuichi smiled and quickened his pace to reach the house he hadn't visited since he was in middle school. Back then he would visit Hikaru quite often. Schuichi was mainly there to watch Hikaru while his parents went out. They actually got along great despite their age difference. Once Schuichi entered High School, he spent the majority of his time with his best friend, Hiro working on their music. He didn't have much time for anything else. Schuichi would only see his cousin during family events or holiday's which were very few and far between. This would be the first time in a while he would be able to visit and speak to his cousin. Schuichi couldn't wait to see what Hikaru was up to these days. _If I'm not mistaken, Hikaru should be graduating from middle school very soon._

He entered through the gate and made his way to the front door. Everything seemed quiet. Schuichi wondered if anyone was home. Before when he came to visit, more often than not he was able to hear his aunt and his cousin arguing as he approached the house. This time nothing. He made it to the front door and rang the door bell. After only a few seconds the door opened. "Hello Auntie."

"Oh goodness, Schuichi, what brings you here? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I had some free time so I thought I'd stop by and see Hikaru. Is he home?"

"Yes he is. He's in his room." Schuichi's aunt moved aside to let Schuichi enter the house. "I'll let him know you're here." Hikaru's mother was about to turn around when Schuichi stopped her. "I don't want him to know I'm here. I want to surprise him." She starred at Schuichi for a moment before conceding. Schuichi removed his shoes and proceeded to the stairwell. _I'm sure Hikaru will be very unhappy about this. _Hikaru's mother headed for the kitchen.

Schuichi quietly walked up the stairs. When he reached the second floor he turned to his right and crept his way to Hikaru's bedroom door. As Schuichi approached he heard a faint sound, 'clack……………….clack……………….clack'. As he got closer the sound got louder. This peaked his curiosity. Schuichi made it to the door. 'Clack……….clack.' He put his hand on the door handle and turned it carefully. When he felt the door 'click' he pushed against it. The door slid open and the room came into view slowly. Schuichi peaked around the door. It didn't take long for him to find Hikaru. He was sitting in the middle of the floor with his back to the door. Schuichi smiled to himself. He opened the door so that he was able to get his body through. He tip toed over to behind Hikaru. He saw Hikaru placing black and white stones on a board. _Well that explains the strange sound. _Schuichi bent down behind Hikaru and moved close to his right ear. He couldn't believe Hikaru hadn't noticed anything yet. He let a couple of moments go by and then,

"Boo!"

"G-wuahhhhh!!' Hikaru was so frightened he knocked over the Go bowls that held the white and black stones with his feet. He was desperately trying to get away from whatever made that sound. Hikaru clamored away from the Go board. He was now leaning up against the edge of his bed and was facing the source of the unexpected guest that invaded his room without his knowledge.

Schuichi began to chuckle only a little at first, then he just burst out laughing. Hikaru just starred at him in disbelief. "Man that never gets old, Hikaru. No matter how many times I do that to you, you never see it coming do you?" Schuichi was laughing so much he had to sit on the floor. _Did he just come here to scare me? _Hikaru was pissed off now. "MOOOM!!" Hikaru screamed at the top of his lungs.

Schuichi continued to laugh.

"What is your problem, Schuichi?"

Schuichi's laughter began to dwindle. "You're the same as always Hikaru." He looked at his cousin and smiled. Hikaru looked back, confusion slowly taking over his anger.

"Why are you here?"

"What, I can't come visit my own cousin?"

"You just came out of nowhere."

"I saw you the other day. You were with someone. That got me thinking I haven't seen you for quite some time so I thought I'd stop by." Schuichi turned his attention to the Go board. "So what are you doing? You're playing Go?"

Hikaru crawled back to the Go board and began picking up the Go stones that were scattered on the floor. Schuichi did nothing to help Hikaru. "I thought Go was a two player game. How are you able to play by yourself?"

"I was replaying games." Hikaru responded, still cleaning up the mess. He also cleared the Go board and placed the stones in their respective containers.

"What do you mean replaying games?"

"I was going over games I played recently against other pros." Schuichi had a blank look on his face as he starred at his cousin. Hikaru felt his gaze and looked up at Schuichi. "Oh, hehe'" Hikaru scratched his head, "I forgot you don't know yet do you?" Schuichi kept on looking at Hikaru. "I'm a professional Go player."

"What? You're a professional Go player?" Schuichi began to laugh

"It's true!" Hikaru shot back. Hikaru's mother showed up with two glasses of iced tea on a tray. She entered Hikaru's room and walked over to where they were. "Mom," Hikaru snapped. "Tell Schuichi that I'm a professional Go player."

Schuichi looked to his Aunt as she knelt down to put the glasses on the floor. She really didn't want to have anything to do with this conversation. She still couldn't believe herself that her son plays professional Go. "It's true, Schuichi. Hikaru plays Go as a professional now." Schuichi starred at his aunt for a moment then turned his attention to Hikaru. He just starred at Hikaru. "But', you're only 14. How can you be a professional Go player?"

"Um, well…"

"I thought only old people played Go." Schuichi Interrupted. "You've been hanging around Grandpa too much, haven't you?"

Hikaru's mother stood up and walked towards the entrance to Hikaru's room to leave. Hikaru opened his mouth to respond to Schuichi's last comment when everything in his room was flooded with a blinding, bright white light. Everyone closed their eyes. The light came in through Hikaru's window. Hikaru tried to open his eyes to see what was going on, but it was way too bright for him to do so. He looked over at his cousin Schuichi who was covering his eyes with his right arm. _What's that noise? It's coming from outside. It almost sounds like a helicopter. But why would a Helicopter be here? _The bright light seemed to flicker. "Ahh!" Hikaru heard his mother scream. He looked to his mother who was backed up against the wall with the drink tray held in front of her body. She was clearly frightened by what she was seeing. Hikaru turned his head towards the shadow that now stood in front of him, his mother and Schuichi.

"All right, I found him. You can leave now. Have them send the car to this address." Slowly, the light from outside began to fade and the sound with it, leaving an unknown man standing before them. He was tall with long blonde hair tied up in a pony tail. He wore an olive green jumpsuit and black boots.

"Hikaru!" His mother screamed. Hikaru found himself looking down the barrel of a gun. He began to sweat.

"K!" Schuichi stood up.

"Are you ok, Schuichi?" The man standing before them kept his attention on Hikaru.

"Hikaru!" Hikaru's mother felt her knees give way underneath her. She dropped to the floor still horrified at the scene playing out in front of her. K shifted his gun and pointed it at Hikaru's mother. Hikaru's mother grasped the tray until her knuckles turned white. She was visibly trembling.

"I was worried about you. I couldn't find you at home, so I thought you were with Yuki, but you weren't."

"Y-you went to see Y-Yuki?" Schuichi sighed. "Oh man, Yuki's gonna be mad."

"I tried your cell phone, but it was turned off."

"Huh?" Schuichi reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone and looked at it. "Hehe, I guess I did have it off. Then how did you find me?"

"Oh, I have my ways."

"Um, I hate to interrupt your conversation, but can you tell me what the heck is going on?" Hikaru was still sweating, but was also getting impatient with the situation.

"K put that away. That's my aunt and that is my cousin."

"Your aunt and cousin? Hmm." K lowered his gun. "And here I thought you'd gotten kidnapped again."

K lowered his gun and placed it inside its holster located on his right side. Schuichi looked over at his aunt who was still on the floor, visibly shaking. He walked over to her and held out his hand. "It's ok." Schuichi's aunt kept her eyes on K for a few moments longer before looking up at her nephew. "Please don't be afraid, auntie." Schuichi said to his aunt. "He's like that with everyone, even me sometimes." Schuichi was smiling, trying to get his aunt to calm down.

"You say that like its completely normal for him to jump through windows pointing guns at people." Hikaru was now on his feet while Schuichi helped his aunt slowly get up off the floor.

"Of course this is normal." K chimed into the conversation. "It's my job after all. How else am I supposed to protect the lead singer of the hottest group in Japan?"

"Oh, so is he your bodyguard Schuichi?" Hikaru's mother asked her voice a little shaky.

"I guess you could see him in that way, but really he's…..Before Schuichi could finish his sentence, Hikaru interrupted, speaking to K. "You're not exactly from around here are you?"

"Well," K bent down so that he was at eye level with Hikaru. "Aren't you quick on the uptake?"

"Why don't you use the front door the next time you're looking for Schuichi?" Hikaru said still feeling quite annoyed. "Then you wouldn't give people heart attacks."

K righted himself up. 'Now that would be no fun. Schuichi, we need to leave now. We have a meeting to go to."

K proceeded to walk past Hikaru. "Hey, don't ignore me!"

"Sorry Hikaru, I guess I have to cut this visit short." Schuichi walked out of Hikaru's room with K right behind him. Hikaru quickly ran after them. Hikaru's mother slowly left the room and proceeded down stairs where everyone else was headed.

As Schuichi approached the front door, he stopped. "Oh yeah, Hikaru." Schuichi turned around and headed back to where Hikaru was standing which was at the base of the stairs with his mother. K stopped at the front door waiting for Schuichi. "Here." Schuichi reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "The next time you're free, get a hold of me so that we can hang out, but make it before the week is over. I'll be too busy to hang out starting next week and I don't know when I'll be able to see you next." Hikaru took the piece of paper.

"Are you going away or something?" Hikaru asked.

Schuichi leaned close to Hikaru and said in a low voice. "Don't tell anyone, but I believe my tour of Japan is starting next week."

"Schuichi."

"Coming!" Schuichi turned around and followed K out the door. They proceeded down the short walk way and to the car that was parked out front.

"Tour? Schuichi is going on a tour of Japan? Well that seems kinda boring."

"He's not going site seeing Hikaru." His mother said to him as she made her way to the kitchen.

"What other kind of tour is there?" Hikaru asked his mother.

"He's touring with his band." Hikaru's mother said as she made her way to the refrigerator opened the door and took out food to prepare for dinner.

"You mean that band he created in high school with his best friend? I guess they have to start somewhere. What was the name of his band again?"

"I think its Bad Luck, and I believe they already released their first album. I thought you already knew that."

"How the heck am I supposed to know?" Hikaru took offense to his mother's last comment.

"You're near down town a lot playing your Go matches. I thought you would've noticed all the posters and billboards hanging up of Schuichi and his band."

_Posters? Billboards? I would've noticed that…………. _Hikaru left the kitchen and went back upstairs to his room.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

**Mitani Yuki**

Hikaru didn't think he would be seeing his cousin Schuichi so soon after his visit last night. In fact, his mind was blank. He was stunned seeing Schuichi looking back at him from the Billboard high above him next to the skyscraper up the street. He wasn't alone. Schuichi's best friend Hiro was also with Schuichi on the billboard as well as someone else that Hikaru didn't recognize. _How did I not see this? _"They must've just put that up." Hikaru put his hands in his pockets and entered the music store he'd been standing outside of.

Hikaru took a few steps into the store and stopped, looking around. He rarely went to these types of stores. His mom said that Schuichi had a CD out. _Where the heck am I supposed to…._Hikaru's thoughts were interrupted when he saw a poster hanging on the far wall for the band Bad Luck. "I guess I'll try over there." Hikaru made his way over to where the poster hanged. Just below it was a very large display of his cousin's CD. He picked one up and looked at the front cover.

"Oh my God!" Two girls in Kaio Middle School uniforms came rushing over to where Hikaru was standing. "I'm so glad I have enough money this week." One of the girls picked up the Bad Luck CD and held it in both hands. "I've wanted this CD since it came out."

"You could've just asked to borrow mine." The other girl said.

"I wanted my own copy." Hikaru stood there watching the girls in front of him drooling over his cousins' album. They began to walk away moving past Hikaru. They kept talking as they left. "Why couldn't you get it when it came out?"

"I had to buy some new clothes so I couldn't afford it that week and then the week after that I had to buy shoes….."

"I guess he's really popular." Hikaru turned back to the CD he was holding in his hand. "I wonder how good it is."

Another person approached the rack where the Bad Luck CDs were being held. This time it was a boy holding onto a stack of CDs. He picked up a copy of the Bad Luck CD and added it to his pile. Hikaru recognized him right away. It was Mitani Yuki from his school.

"So I guess you really do like music." The comment just came out of Hikaru without him even thinking. Mitani glanced over at Hikaru.

"What do you want?" Mitani coldly asked Hikaru. Although he really didn't care what Hikaru had to say.

"I just came to pick up this CD. You look like your getting the same one."

"Yeah, so? I like their music." Mitani kept his eyes on the Bad Luck CD trying to busy himself with studying it so that he didn't have to look at Hikaru.

"Really? My cousin will be happy to hear that."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"My cousin is the lead singer of Bad Luck."

Mitani finally turned to Hikaru looking quite annoyed at what he just said. "Sure, live in your fantasy world." Mitani started to walk away, moving past Hikaru.

"I'm serious. Schuichi is my cousin. He has the same last name as me."

"Having the same last name doesn't mean anything."

"But…"

"Look," Mitani raised his voice. He could no longer contain his anger and frustration. "I don't know what you're trying to pull here but it's not going to work.

"What are you talking about?"

Mitani turned around to face Hikaru, rage burning in his eyes. "I'm not going to fall for this again! How stupid do you think I am?"

Hikaru wasn't sure how to respond to Mitani.

"Do you have any idea what you put me through? I thought you were different. But I was wrong. You're just like everyone else. The worst part is, is that I actually believed you."

"Mitani, I…" Mitani's hand came flying, hitting Hikaru across the face.

"Shut up!" Hikaru just stood there, not looking at Mitani. He decided it best to let Mitani vent.

"Why? Answer me why? Why did you leave? We were having so much fun together and you had to ruin it because you wanted to chase Toya!"

Mitani was breathing heavily now. "I hope for your sake it was worth it." Mitani turned around and placed the stack of CDs he was holding onto a nearby rack. He hesitated for a moment. Hikaru moved his head and was now looking at Mitani's back. Hikaru opened his mouth to say something when Mitani spoke first. "I guess there's only one good thing that's come out of you turning pro. You're not in school that much so I rarely have to see you." Mitani walked away and out the door. Hikaru stood there watching Mitani leave. Even after he left, Hikaru wasn't sure what to do. He felt bad for Mitani. He really did but he knew that no matter what he said to him, Mitani wouldn't believe him. He let not only Mitani down, but the rest of the Go club when he decided to go pro. Hikaru hated thinking about this. He made his decision and that was that. He'll have to live with the fact that he can't please everyone. Hikaru still wants to be friends with everyone in the Go club, especially Mitani but he is in the professional world now and he couldn't look back.

"That was pretty harsh." Hikaru was about to move to the front desk to purchase the CD he held in his hand. He looked around him to find the source of the comment made to him. It didn't take him long to see K standing behind him. "You need to learn how to let them down easily."

"Eeeeeee!" Hikaru jumped back. "If you're looking for Schuichi, he's not here I swear!"

"I know exactly where Schuichi is. Besides, I came looking for you."

"Me? What do you want with me?"

"First things first, why don't you buy that CD you got in your hand. Then we need to talk."

"About what?"

"There's something I need you to do for me."

_Of all places, why did Shindo show up there? I never thought in a million years he would walk into a music store. _Mitani was walking down the street holding his school bag over his shoulder contemplating the events that just occurred. _I can't believe I actually got excited to see him. For a moment I thought he was there to see me, and then he made up that dumb story about being related to the lead singer of Bad Luck. What was that all about? Was he trying to impress me? I just don't get the guy. Man, am I stupid. I have to stop thinking about Shindo. It's over. We'll never be friends again, especially not after what I said to him. I'll probably never see him again. _Mitani felt something wet running down his cheek. He stopped walking and brought his hand up to his face to wipe off the moisture. _Why am I crying? Could I be crying because of….._Mitani felt more tears flowing down his cheeks. _What's wrong with me? Stop crying. _Mitani walked into an alleyway and leaned up against the cold concrete wall. He brought his arm up to his face to cover his eyes. He was trying to stop himself from crying. _Dammit_, Hikaru! _Never! Never again will I let anyone else in. _The sky above got cloudy and dark quite suddenly. Rain began to fall slowly from the sky and just as quickly it began to pour. Mitani stayed in the alleyway for what seemed like hours, letting out all the emotion that had built up over those months. With eyes puffy and red, he made his way home in the rain using his school bag as an umbrella.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Tatsuha**

"You know, I could've walked home by myself." Hikaru stood outside the gate to his house. The rain did not let up since that afternoon.

"If I let you walk home, you would've gotten drenched and then sick and I can't have that happening to you now." K stood alongside Hikaru holding an umbrella that sheltered them from the pouring rain.

Hikaru sighed. "Why me?" Hikaru put his hand up to his head. "Out of all people…."

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Besides you're perfect!" K smiled and slapped Hikaru on the back.

"Hey!"

"By the way, this is for you." K reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone.

"What do I need a cell phone for?"

"It's so that I can get in touch with you when I need to." K handed the phone to the reluctant Hikaru. "Keep it on you at all times. I'll be contacting you very soon. Oh, here's the charger." K handed the charger over to Hikaru.

"Anything else?" Hikaru looked up at K getting quite annoyed.

"Yes." K brought his hand up to Hikaru's face and lightly touched the cheek that was bandaged due to Mitani's confrontation with Hikaru earlier that day. "Try not to get hit again."

"I'm leaving!" Hikaru pushed K's hand away, opened the gate and ran for the front door. When he reached the front door, he turned around. All he found was the dark, empty street. He quickly scanned the area but could find no sign of K. Hikaru sighed, opened the door and went inside.

Hikaru closed the door behind him and began to take off his shoes. "Thank you so much. You are a life saver." Hikaru looked up to see a woman he did not recognize talking to his mother. "I can't believe I ran out of detergent."

"Please, don't mention it. Oh Hikaru, you're home. I thought you would be home earlier."

"Oh is this your son?" The woman and Hikaru's mom approached Hikaru. Before Hikaru's mother could answer, the woman began to introduce herself. "I'm Shibuya Miko. But you can call me Jennifer." Hikaru just starred at her not knowing what to say or do. "Your mom has told me all about you. I have a son that is about your age. Oh no! I have to get going. He might come home any minute now." Miko turned to Hikaru's mom. "Thank you again." She turned back to Hikaru. "It was nice to meet you." She moved to the front door. "You should meet my son sometime. I'm sure you two would get along." Miko opened the front door and grabbed her umbrella that was sitting off to the side.

"Be careful Jennifer."

Jennifer left the house and shut the door behind her.

"Why does she want to be called Jennifer?" Hikaru asked his mom. "I thought she introduced herself as Miko."

"Miko is her name, but she likes to be called Jennifer."

"Why?" Hikaru was extremely confused now.

"That's just how she likes people to refer to her."

"Never mind." _This makes no sense to me and I'm tired._ Hikaru made his way to the stairs.

"Are you hungry Hikaru? I can make you something."

"No." Hikaru made his way upstairs. "I already ate." Hikaru walked to his room and shut the door. He took the cell phone and charger out of his pockets and set them on the table next to his bed. He took out the Bad Luck CD he bought earlier that day from the bag he was carrying and unwrapped the plastic. He took out the CD and put it into his CD player. Music began to play. _"Obieta mezuki de iradatsu omoi uwaki na kaze ni hakisutete….." _Hikaru made his way over to his bed and laid down on his back putting his hands behind his head. "So this is my cousin Schuichi." Hikaru muttered to himself. Hikaru stared at the ceiling, mesmerized by the music. He closed his eyes. "Maybe I'll go visit him tomorrow."

The doorbell rang again for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Hey, are you gonna get that?" Yuki yelled to Schuichi from his office, but got no response. The door bell kept on ringing. "Hey!" Yuki yelled again. "Don't tell me he's not back yet." Yuki muttered to himself as he got up from his chair to answer the door. He threw open the apartment door. "Yes? What is it?" At first he didn't see anyone there.

"I'm sorry." Yuki looked down. "I must have the wrong apartment." The boy looked at the piece of paper he was holding to see where he went wrong.

"Oh, it's you." Yuki said not wanting to deal with anyone at the moment.

"Huh?" The boy looked up at the man who answered the door.

"Schuichi isn't here, but he should be back soon." Yuki moved aside to let the boy in. Hikaru wasn't sure what to do. "Well, are you coming in or not?"

"Uh, yeah." Hikaru walked into the apartment and Yuki closed the door behind him.

"What did he call you again? Hikaru, isn't it?"

"Huh? Yes."

"I'm Yuki." "I'm going to make some tea, would you like some?" Yuki began to walk towards the kitchen. Hikaru followed Yuki.

"Where did Schuichi go?"

"I think he needed to pick something up at the store." Yuki put down the pile of papers he was carrying onto one of the counters and started gathering everything to make tea.

"Are you waiting for Schuichi too?"

Yuki looked at Hikaru. "What do you mean?"

"This is his apartment isn't it?"

'It's my apartment too."

"Oh, you're his roommate? He didn't tell me he had a roommate."

"Really? That's a surprise."

Yuki began boiling the water on the stove. Hikaru's attention wandered. He looked at the stack of papers Yuki put down on the counter that he found himself next to. There was very little written on the top page. _'My Only One by Eri Yuki.' Hmm. Eri Yuki. Why does that name sound familiar?_

"Hey." This startled Hikaru. Hikaru turned his attention to Yuki. "You didn't answer me before. Want some tea?"

"Um, no thank you." Yuki finished boiling the water and prepared his tea. Hikaru looked at the paper again, still trying to place the name that he knew from somewhere. Yuki quickly picked up the pile of papers. "I have a lot of work to get done. You can stay and wait for Schuichi if you want." Yuki left the room leaving Hikaru by himself in the kitchen. Hikaru stood there thinking he probably should've called first before he came over. _Perhaps I should come back at another time._

Just then the door bell rang. Hikaru left the kitchen and went into the hallway. He expected Yuki to come answer the door. The door bell rang again. Hikaru waited a few more seconds before answering it. "I'm coming." Hikaru opened the door. He looked at the man standing before him. "Um, Y-Yuki?" Hikaru was quite perplexed. "What did you do to your hair?"

"I could ask the same thing of you. What did you do to your hair? Is this a new look your going for?" The man pointed at Hikaru.

"What?"

"You know, it doesn't look so bad. I liked the pink hair, but either way you still look cute." The man stepped closer to Hikaru. Hikaru immediately became very nervous.

"U-um, he-he. What are you talking about?" _What's going on? _

The man leaned in, coming face to face with Hikaru. They stared at each other for a while. "Wow!" The man yelled and spread his arms wide and threw them around Hikaru.

"Ahhh!" Hikaru screamed as he was pushed backwards and onto the floor. "Ow!"

"You're just too cute!" The man said loudly, hugging Hikaru tightly, while lying on top of him.

"Please, let go!" Hikaru was struggling to get out from under this man who looked just like Yuki but with black hair. _Why is he doing this? _Hikaru kept on struggling. The more he struggled the tighter the man held on to him.

"What is going on here?" Both Yuki and Schuichi said in unison.

"Schuichi is that you? Please help me!"

"Tatsuha!" Schuichi stood in the doorway to the apartment holding a plastic bag. He moved over to Tatsuha and Hikaru to help his cousin.

"Schuichi?" Tatsuha looked up.

"Tatsuha please let my cousin go."

"Your cousin?" Tatsuha got up slowly but was kneeling on the floor over Hikaru. He looked at Hikaru and then at Schuichi and then back to Hikaru. "Wow. He certainly looks just like you."

"Do you mind?" Hikaru was starting to lose his temper.

"You're even cute when you're angry." Hikaru shot a nasty look at Tatsuha.

"I hate to interrupt all your fun," Everyone turned to Yuki to see him staring at them with rage burning in his eyes. Schuichi, Tatsuha, and even Hikaru began to panic. "But I would appreciate it if you would all just shut up!!" Yuki shouted at the group still hanging out in the foyer of the apartment, walked away and slammed the door to his office.

"Schuichi, do you really live with that guy?" Hikaru asked still looking at the spot that was now vacated by Yuki.

"He's probably the only one who could live with him. He's lasted this long." Tatsuya responded while standing up. Schuichi offered his hand to his cousin to help him off the floor.

"So this is your cousin, Schuichi?"

"Yes, this is my little cousin Hikaru." Schuichi put his arm around Hikaru.

"Hikaru, this is Tatsuha, Yuki's younger brother."

"Younger brother." _I guess that explains why they look alike._

"So what brings you here Tatsuha?" Schuichi moved to the door and closed it.

"I was nearby so I decided to stop by and see what was going on. I'm glad I did. I got to meet your cousin." Tatsuha looked at Hikaru and smiled. Hikaru blushed and looked away.

"Leave him alone, Tatsuha." Schuichi grabbed Hikaru's arm and dragged him into the kitchen. "Besides, he's with someone."

"What are you talking about?" Hikaru asked Schuichi. Schuichi didn't answer.

"Why are all the good ones taken?" Tatsuha said to himself and proceeded to the kitchen.

Schuichi put the bag on the counter and began to remove items and put them away.

"Well, I guess I should leave you two alone." Tatsuha said as he entered the kitchen.

"What? But you just got here." Schuichi stopped what he was doing. "What about Yuki?"

"I'm not going near him. He might hurt me. I'll come back some other time when he's not so busy. I'm sure he's trying to meet some deadline."

"Deadline?" Hikaru repeated. "Ah!" Schuichi and Tatsuha jumped. Hikaru remembered the book he had to buy for his mother. "That's where I remember the name from." Tatsuha and Schuichi looked at each other, not sure what was going on. "Wait a minute, you live with Eri Yuki? The author?"

"Oh so you read his books?"

"What? No! My mom likes to read his novels. I had to pick one up the other day for her."

"Yeah, right. You like all those mushy, romance books and you know it." Schuichi began to tease Hikaru.

"I do not!' Hikaru raised his voice. Schuichi and Tatsuha ran over to Hikaru and covered his mouth.

"Shh! You don't want to piss off Yuki anymore do you?" Tatsuha whispered to Hikaru.

Hikaru realized what he just did, panicked for a moment and then relaxed. Tatsuha and Schuichi removed their hands from covering Hikaru's mouth slowly.

"Well, good luck tomorrow night Schuichi. I'll be watching. It was nice to meet you, Hikaru. Until next time." Tatsuha smiled.

"Yeah," Hikaru looked away. _Why does this guy give me such a creepy feeling? _"It was nice meeting you too." Tatsuha left the kitchen and then they heard the apartment door close. Schuichi proceeded to put the rest of the groceries away. "What's going on tomorrow night?"

"Oh, we're announcing our tour tomorrow night on TV. Hey," Schuichi finished with what he was doing and walked back over to Hikaru. "Why don't you come?"

"What? Where?"

"To the TV studio tomorrow night. It'll be fun and you'll get to see me perform. You've never seen me perform have you?"

"No, I haven't. I just finished listening to your CD."

'So, what did you think?"

"I liked it."

"And?"

"And? I liked it."

"That's all you can say is that you liked it? That's it! You're definitely going tomorrow."

"But I have a couple of Go matches to play tomorrow. I won't be out until after 4:00."

"Oh that's fine. We don't need to be at the TV station until 5:00. We can pick you up after your matches. Where will you be?"

"At the Go Association."

"Where's that?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Hikaru & Akira**

"You can't go." K told Schuichi in a calm but stern voice.

"Why not?" Schuichi was beginning to get whiny.

"Shindo, please think this through." Sakano decided to try to talk to Schuichi. He turned around as much as he could inside the limousine to face the impulsive vocalist. "The moment you walk in there, you'll be recognized and…"

"No I won't!" Schuichi cut Sakano off. "The place is filled with old men who don't even know I exist!"

"What about Hikaru?" Hiro asked. "It's not just old men who play Go."

Schuichi gave Hiro an angry look. "You're not helping Hiro." Schuichi turned to K, who was sitting in the driver's seat still looking forward. He was about to argue with K some more.

"All right." K conceded. "You can go."

"What!?" Sakano, Hiro and Fujisaki said this in unison. Even Schuichi was shocked. K giving in?

"But I'm coming with you."

K and Schuichi exited the limo and made their way into the Go Association.

It was pretty quiet. There weren't very many people inside that they could see. "Hmm, I wonder where Hikaru is." Schuichi kept looking around, not sure where to go.

"Why don't we ask somebody?"

* * *

Hikaru knew the game was over. No matter where he placed his stones, didn't really matter anymore. The winner of this match was quite clear.

"I resign."

"Thank you very much for the game." Hikaru bowed his head. _Yes, another win! _Hikaru began clearing his stones off the board and placed them in his Go bowl. His opponent was quicker than he was at cleaning up. The man stood up and left the room.

"How did you do, Hikaru?" Hikaru looked up to see Waya standing over him.

"I won both of my games."

"That's great! So did I." Hikaru finished clearing the board and stood up. "I didn't see Toya today. I guess he didn't have any matches."

"He's not playing until this weekend." Hikaru replied.

Waya looked at him. "What, keeping tabs on Toya, Shindo?"

"What are you talking about?" Hikaru got defensive. "I'm just waiting until I get my chance to play him. That's all."

Waya sighed. "So, are you hungry? Wanna get something to eat? You can come too, if you want Ochi." Waya turned to Ochi who was behind him. "No thank you."

"Oh man! I'm too late?" Hikaru, Waya and Ochi looked towards the voice. "Hey, Hikaru! We're here!" Schuichi and K were standing in the entrance to the room. Schuichi was smiling and waving at Hikaru.

"Who is that?" Ochi said condescendingly.

"What are you doing here?" Hikaru started walking towards Schuichi.

"Oh wow! No way! It can't be!" Waya began running at Schuichi.

It happened so quickly. K jumped in front of Schuichi and pulled out his hand gun and pointed it at Waya. "That's far enough." Waya stopped so suddenly that he fell on the floor.

"Oh my god! He has a gun!" Ochi couldn't believe what was going on right in front of his face. His eyes were popping out of his head. _How could this be happening? A man with a gun here at the Go Association? What could he possibly want? There's nothing here of value._

"Please don't kill me!" Waya began to plead with K. "I'm too young to die!" K cocked his gun. Panic started to overtake Waya. "Isumiii!"

"What do you want with Schuichi? You have ten seconds to tell me."

"K!" Hikaru ran over to where Waya was, leaving Ochi by himself. "Stop this!"

"K knock it off!" Schuichi yelled.

"But he could be the enemy."

"Enemy?" Hikaru repeated K's words not understanding at all what he was talking about.

K looked at Hikaru out of the corner of his eye. He then looked at Ochi. "Ahh!" Ochi began to cry. "Why are you looking at me for? I didn't do anything. I'm innocent!"

K turned back to Waya. "The clock is ticking."

"I just want to meet Mr. Shindo! I really love Bad Luck! Their music is great! I've been to every one of their concerts!"

"Every one of their concerts?" K questioned Waya.

"Ok, I lied. But I went to as many as my schedule would allow. Having this opportunity to meet the vocalist is a dream come true!"

Silence. All eyes were on Waya. Hikaru couldn't believe the passion Waya spoke with while speaking about his cousin. _He really liked him that much?_

K slowly retracted his weapon. "Here, let me help you up." Schuichi extended his hand to Waya. Waya looked up at Schuichi. He took his hand and Schuichi pulled him up off the floor. Waya and Schuichi stood face to face.

"Thank you. My name is Waya Yoshitaka. It's an honor to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Waya."

"So what brings a famous musician to the Go Association?"

"I'm here to pick up my cousin, Hikaru."

"What!? Your cousin is Shindo Hikaru?" Waya turned to Hikaru. "Shindo, why didn't you tell me that Shindo Shuichi is your cousin!?"

"I never thought about it."

"You never thought about it? But I love Bad Luck!"

"Well, I had no idea. You never told me."

"So where are you guys going?"

"If you're such a big Bad Luck fan, you should know the answer to that already." K replied.

"Oh yes, you'll be appearing on TV tonight and there's some big announcement you'll be making. Hikaru, you'll be going with him?"

"Yes."

"Aw, that's no fair. I want to go too."

"You can come if you want." Schuichi invited Waya.

"Wow, to get an invitation from Shindo Schuichi of Bad Luck himself. I already hate myself for declining your nice offer, but I need to see Morishita-sensei tonight and I can't cancel."

"And you call yourself a fan?" K looked into Waya's eyes. This made Waya nervous and he looked away.

"Oh, that's too bad. What about you?" Schuichi turned to Ochi. Ochi didn't expect this.

"What makes you think I'd want to go to see a music group play on TV? I have better things to do."

"Ochi!" Waya scolded him.

K frowned at Ochi's comment.

"Well, we really must be going Schuichi. Hikaru?"

K, Schuichi, Hikaru and Waya took the elevator down to the lobby. Ochi stayed behind. They exited the building and stopped just outside the entrance.

"Good luck tonight, Mr. Shindo. I'll be eagerly watching."

"Thank you. See you later."

"Bye Waya."

Schuichi, Hikaru and K walked over to the limousine. Waya watched as K opened the back door and saw Schuichi and Hikaru get inside. K then proceeded to get in the driver's seat and they drove off.

"I can't believe I met Shindo Schuichi of Bad Luck! Wait! Ahhh! Oh no! I'm so stupid!" Waya began to panic. "I forgot to ask Mr. Shindo for an autograph!"

* * *

"Let me introduce you to my cousin, Hikaru. Hikaru you've met Hiro before. He's the guitarist for my band."

"Good to see you again Hikaru."

"Hello."

"And this is Fujisaki. He plays the keyboard."

Hikaru turned to Fujisaki. "Hello, it's nice to meet you."

Fujisaki said nothing to Hikaru. He just coldly stared at him.

"Come on Fujisaki. Don't be shy. Say hello."

Fujisaki turned away and looked out the window.

_What's his problem?_

"Don't pay attention to him." Schuichi told Hikaru. "He's like this to everyone."

"So, Hikaru, you're a professional Go player?" Hiro tried to break the tension. "I never saw you as someone who would be interested in Go. How did you start playing?"

"A friend of mine introduced me to the game. I learned a lot from him."

"We should play sometime. I'd like to see how good you are."

"Hiro? You play Go?" Schuichi was shocked to hear this.

"I haven't played in a while, but I learned when I was younger. By the way, what level are you at?"

"I'm still a 1st-dan."

"I'll make sure not to underestimate you." The limousine continued down the road to its destination.

* * *

"Oh wow! Look at all the people." As the car pulled up in front of the TV station, Hikaru stared out the car window amazed by the large crowd gathered behind police barricades, who were pushing and shoving each other to get as close to the front as possible. There were several police officers as well trying to control the crowd, which looked like they were barely accomplishing that task.

"I wonder who they're all waiting to see." Hikaru continued to stare out the window, not directing the comment to anyone in the car in particular. Hiro and Fujisaki, who were sitting directly across from Hikaru and Schuichi, exchanged looks of confusion. Neither of them dared to open their mouths to respond to the statement that was just made. Both Hiro and Fujisaki had the same thought: _Just like his cousin, Shuichi._

Shuichi leaned on Hikaru and put his arm around his shoulder. Hikaru turned to look at Shuichi. Smiling, he told Hikaru, "Naturally, they're here to see us".

"What? You?" Hikaru turned to look at the crowd again. "All these people are here to see you? No Way!"

At this point K and Sakano had already gotten out of the car. The car door Hikaru was sitting next to opened. Hiro and Fujisaki stepped out of the car. Hikaru heard the crowd scream.

"Yep, they're all here to see me!" Schuichi took his arm off of Hikaru's shoulder and proceeded to climb over Hikaru to exit the car. "Ouch! Hey watch it, Schuichi!" Once Schuichi emerged from the car, the crowd screamed louder.

"This is my cousin these people are cheering for?" Hikaru finally emerged from the vehicle. K was still standing near the car. The flashes from the cameras were blinding Hikaru.

"Weren't expecting this now, were you?" K asked Hikaru while still keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead at Schuichi and his band.

"No, I wasn't."

"Come on. Let's go inside. You think this is impressive. You haven't seen anything yet." K closed the door to the car and he proceeded to escort Hikaru past the crowd. A little ways in front of them, he watched Schuichi posing for pictures with Hiro and Fujisaki while waving and yelling 'hellos' at a crowd vying for their attention. Sakano motioned for Schuichi, Hiro and Fujisaki to head for the TV station entrance.

* * *

Akira opened the door and stepped out into the hall. He was wearing a light, lavender suit with a yellow and black striped tie along with a light pink dress shirt. "Thank you very much, Akira. You did very well."

"Thank you for having me on your show." Akira turned around to face the man that was speaking to him. Akira bowed slightly to show his appreciation.

"Not at all. It was our pleasure indeed. I look forward to hearing about your upcoming matches. Goodnight."

"Thank you again, and goodnight." Akira replied.

The man went back inside and shut the door and Akira turned around and headed for the elevators. When he reached the elevators, he pressed the down arrow button and waited. The doors to an elevator opened almost immediately. He entered the empty elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. _It's pretty quiet for a TV station,_ Akira thought as the elevator made its way to the lobby.

The elevator made it to its destination. The doors opened and Akira stepped out. He proceeded to walk towards the exit doors.

"I don't know when I'll be home! This could go all night!"

Akira stopped dead in his tracks. _That voice. _

"I'll be home when everything is over. Now I have to go before they start."

_That sounds like Shindo Hikaru. _Akira turned to look in the direction from where the voice was coming from. It was coming from across the lobby. There he saw a young boy talking loudly on one of the pay phones. _It is Shindo! What's he doing here? No, I don't care. It doesn't matter to me what he's doing at a TV station. I just need to go home._

"Yeah, yeah. I'll tell him you said 'hi'. Hikaru hung up the phone and ran across the lobby to the elevators, not noticing Akira.

Akira turned around and continued to walk towards the exit doors. All of a sudden, two boys raced passed him, almost knocking him down. "Come on, we're late as it is." One of the boys said.

Akira turned to see where they were running too. They ended up at the elevators where Hikaru was standing. "The elevators are taking too long. Let's take the stairs." The two boys and Hikaru ran for the stairs. They opened the door to the stairwell and proceeded to run up the stairs.

_I believe this is where they went. _Akira thought as he walked through the door into the empty hall. He paused for a moment, not sure which way to go. Akira turned to his left and began to walk down the hallway. _Wait a minute. What am I doing? What do I care what Shindo is doing? It doesn't matter to me what he does with his free time. _Akira began to get really angry with himself. His hands were balled into fists that were tightening with each passing moment. Anger and frustration showed on his face.

Akira turned around with the intention of leaving. He did not expect to find someone standing behind him. This startled him.

"So, you got dragged into this too, huh?" The man standing before him was about six feet tall. He was slender, with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing black pants along with a black suit jacket. Underneath the jacket, he wore a dark purple dress shirt with the top button undone.

"I'm sorry?" Akira asked the man standing in front of him.

The man sighed. "Well, we're both here. Might as well get this over with." The man turned around and started walking down the hall. He stopped after noticing that Akira wasn't following. 'What's the matter?" He called over his shoulder. "You're gonna end up disappointing that brat of yours."

"Brat? You mean Hikaru?"

"Who else would I mean?" The man continued walking down the hall. Akira hesitated. Then, without even thinking, his legs began to move underneath him.

They turned left once they reached the end of the hall. Akira remained a few paces behind the man he just met a minute ago wondering where exactly he was being lead. They proceeded down the next hallway. A little ways down, Akira noticed someone standing ahead of them, watching as they approached. As they got closer, Akira was able to see the other person clearer. It was another man, about the same height as the man he was following. He also had blonde hair, but his was much, much longer. It was tied up in a pony tail. He was wearing khaki pants, a white dress shirt with a black neck tie and something that looked like a gun holster that was strapped around his shoulders. _No, that can be._ They approached the man and stopped a few feet from him_**. **_ Akira was still standing behind the man he was following, but a little off to the side so as to see the man standing before them. Akira stared at the gun holster and saw that indeed the man carried a gun. This did not settle well with Akira. _What is this man doing with a gun in a TV station? And what does this all have to do with Shindo Hikaru? _Akira wanted to ask, but wasn't sure if he should or not.

"It's about time you showed up." The man with the pony tail spoke to the man standing in front of Akira. He glanced quickly at Akira. "I was about to go look for you, if you didn't show up in the next sixty seconds."

"I'm here now."

"That still remains to be seen. I can't have you running off in the middle of Shindo's competition. I need him to be completely focused.

The man in front of Akira didn't respond. He just stood there in silence. After a few moments, the man with the pony tail was about to say something to Akira, when, all of a sudden a door burst open.

"Yuuuuuukkiiiiiiii!!"

Akira jumped back. The man with the pony tail seemed to get out of the way before getting hit with the door. The man standing in front of Akira didn't even flinch

The person who came flying out of the room was now hanging on to the man in front of Akira. The man still made no reaction to the sudden outburst. He just stood there in silence.

_Who are these people?_

"Oh Yuki, you're here! I'm so happy!"

Akira couldn't see the person clinging to the man in front of him. _I guess his name is Yuki_

"Like I had much of a choice." Yuki finally spoke.

"Come on. What could you be doing right now that's more important than being here?"

"Sleeping, smoking, working…"

Akira finally saw the person clinging to Yuki. He was looking over Yuki's shoulder at him.

"Hey, I know you."

"Would you get off of me!" Yuki grabbed the person who was still clinging to him and pulled him off. The person walked around Yuki and approached Akira. He was shorter than Yuki, but about the same height as Akira. He had short pink hair. He wore black shorts, a black shirt that left his belly exposed, with a long yellow and orange coat.

"Hikaru invited you didn't he? I wish he told me, but that doesn't matter now. All that matters is that you're here." Come on, let's go inside."

He grabbed Akira by the wrist. "Um, wait a second." Akira tried to protest, but he didn't seem to be listening. The pink-hair boy walked up behind Yuki and put his free hand onto Yuki's back and he began pushing him forward. "Come on. You too."

"Hey! Stop pushing me." Yuki spoke with annoyance in his voice over his shoulder.

"Knock it off already!" Yuki yelled at the pink-hair boy as he turned around to face him.

The pink hair boy put his hand up in protest. "Yuki, there's no need to yell."

Yuki turned back around and walked through the open door that the pink hair boy barreled through earlier.

_Who are these people? And how did I end up here in the first place? _Akira wasn't sure what he should do at this point. The pink hair guy was still holding onto his wrist with no signs that he was going to let go anytime soon.

"Tonight is going to be great! I just know it!" The pink hair boy proclaimed.

Akira just starred at the back of the pink-hair boy. All of a sudden, Akira found himself being pulled violently forward to the point where he almost fell over, but he managed to keep his balance. He barely kept up with the guy who was dragging him along. They entered through the same door as Yuki did only moments ago. The man with the pony tail waited for them to pass before bringing up the rear.

"Hi guys. I'm back." The pink hair boy entered the room and stopped just inside the entryway. Akira was still behind him so he was unable to see inside the room. The pink hair boy finally let go of Akira's wrist. He turned around to face him. He put his index finger up to his lips, "Shhh!"

The pink hair boy turned around and ran quickly to one side of the room.

_I wonder why he wants me to be quiet._

"Hey!"

"No Peaking."

"What are you doing?"

_It's Shindo Hikaru! _The pink hair kid was walking towards Akira with Hikaru right in front of him. He was covering Hikaru's eyes with his hands.

They finally made It over to Akira and they stood only a few feet away from him.

"I have a surprise for you Hikaru."

Schuichi laughed with excitement.

"Surprise? Really? What is it?"

"Ready, Hikaru? Tadaaaah!"

Schuichi removed his hands from covering Hikaru's eyes. Hikaru looked straight ahead at Akira.

Hikaru stood there in silence, staring at Akira. _Akira? Toya Akira? Why am I looking at Toya?_

Hikaru and Akira looked at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity. The entire room was silent with all eyes fixated on the young boys staring at each other near the entrance of the room.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Hikaru screamed. Everyone in the room jumped from the sudden outburst. Akira took a step back from Hikaru, who was still staring at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hikaru yelled and pointed at Akira.

Akira jumped again, startled by Hikaru's loud question and very rude jesters.

Calmly, Akira responded to Hikaru. "I just finished being interviewed for a TV special…"

'No, I mean what are you doing here, in this room?" Hikaru interrupted Akira. Then he folded his arms. "I don't remember inviting you." Hikaru said this rather rudely.

Akira started to get mad. "You didn't invite me", Akira shot back.

The pony tail man stepped into the conversation. "He came in with Yuki."

"Yuki." Hikaru said in surprise. "Do you know Yuki, Toya?"

Akira's building anger didn't show any signs of cooling down. "No, I don't know him. I don't know any of these people." Akira was speaking loudly and firmly to Hikaru. "I don't even know how I ended up here. Why are you here?" Akira's hands were tensed up in fists. _Why am I so angry? I mean there was really nothing to get so angry over. Shindo just asked me a simple question._

"I'm here to see my cousin play."

"You're cousin?"

"Yeah. That's my cousin Shindo Schuichi." Hikaru pointed at Schuichi who was standing behind Hikaru.

"It's nice to meet you. I've wanted to meet you for a while now." Schuichi smiled at Akira.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Toya Akira. Do you play Go as well?" Akira asked Schuichi.

Schuichi laughed. "I've never played the game before. I'll leave that to Hikaru. I think I'll just stick with Bad Luck."

"Bad Luck? You mean Bad Luck the band?"

Hikaru looked at Akira surprised. "You know about Bad Luck?"

"Yes."

"Soooo, are you a big fan?" Schuichi asked Akira.

"Um, hehe." Akira laughed nervously at Schuichi's question. "I know people who are big fans."

"But what about you, Toya? Do you like Bad Luck?" Hikaru asked.

"Well, I've never heard their music before." Akira responded.

"Well", the pony tail man walked up beside Akira and put his hand on Akira's shoulder. "This is the perfect opportunity for you to hear Bad Luck."

"Um…well…"

"You're going to stay and watch, right?" At that moment, he took out his gun and held it so that it pointed at the ceiling.

Akira's eyes went wide. _Oh my god! He can't be serious! Who is this person? _Akira began to panic. He felt someone grab his arm and pull him forward. He then found himself staring at the back of Hikaru.

"Leave him alone, K! Of course he's going to stay. Right, Toya?" Hikaru kept his gaze on K, not wavering for a moment.

Just then a man appeared in the entrance way to the room. He held a clipboard in one hand and with the other he was flipping through pages, his eyes never leaving the clipboard. "Excuse me. Five minutes." And then he walked away.

K and Hikaru kept their eyes fixed on each other. Everyone in the room was wondering the same thing. Who will cave first? The answer came more quickly than they anticipated. K slowly put his gun away. "All right guys. Let's go."

Hiro and Fujisaki got up from where they were sitting and made their way across the room. They met up with Schuichi and they began to follow K out of the room. While they left, Fujisaki glanced at Hikaru coldly and proceeded out the door. Hikaru wasn't sure what to make of this. He was sure he never met Fujisaki before. Schuichi was the last to leave.

"Come on Hikaru. You have to watch the opening from back stage."

"Ok"

Hikaru followed Schuichi, leaving Akira, standing, staring at the empty doorway.

_What have I gotten myself into? I should probably get out of here while I can! That man with the gun gives me a very bad feeling._

Akira was right about to start heading out of the room, when he was startled by the person sitting in the corner of the room.

"I'm not going to be the one to clean up your mess after you leave."

Akira turned to face Yuki.

"My mess? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Hikaru. He'll be depressed when he comes back here and you're gone."

"I'm sure you're mistaken. I wasn't even invited here in the first place. So I'm sure he won't notice that I'm gone."

Yuki laughed.

"You're in denial. Answer me this. How long have you known Hikaru?"

"I met Hikaru a couple of years ago."

Yuki sighed. "I hate to break it to you, but you're stuck. Hikaru only sees you, and I'm not talking about Go."

Akira was now more confused_. What could Yuki possibly mean? Him and Hikaru are Go rivals. How else would Hikaru see me?_

"Hikaru is just like his cousin. Once he's fallen in love, he doesn't have eyes for anyone else."

_Fallen in love? With who? He can't possibly mean Hikaru……is ……in ……love …..with……….me!? _

Akira felt his face grow warm. _What gave Yuki that idea?_

Yuki got up from where he was sitting and made his way to the doorway. He stopped and looked at Akira who was staring off into space, blushing.

_He didn't realize this until now? I hope I didn't shock him too much. _Yuki sighed to himself. He was about to leave when Hikaru ran into the room.

"Toya, you should have come. It was a great opening. Schuichi was awesome! I can't wait to see the rest……" Hikaru stopped talking and looked at Akira. The grin on his face while talking about his cousin, faded.

"Toya, are you Ok? Why is your face bright red?" Hikaru asked Akira with much concern in his voice.

Akira was startled by this question. His thoughts were still contemplating the words Yuki spoke only moments ago, '…_Once he's fallen in love, he doesn't have eyes for anyone else.' _ Those words echoed through Akira's mind. _That's just nonsense! He can't mean me. We're both guys after all. He's just chasing after me to catch up to me in Go. That's all! Right?_

Before he knew what was happening, Hikaru was standing directly in front of him. Hikaru took Akira's face in his hands. He brought his face forward until their foreheads touched.

_What is he doing? _Akira was staring straight ahead at Hikaru who was standing in silence with his eyes closed. Akira felt his heart beating faster and harder in his chest. His face felt like it was on fire. _What's wrong with me? Why am I acting this way?_

He saw Hikaru's face soften and he began to smile.

Hikaru sighed. "Thank goodness it's not a fever." Hikaru pushed back a little from Akira. Hikaru opened his eyes and stared into Akira's eyes. This made Akira even more flustered.

They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed to be an eternity. _I have to get away! He could probably hear my heart beating. Get away, Now!_

As Hikaru was about to take his hands away from Akira's face, Akira quickly stepped back from Hikaru and looked away. "Toya?" He tried to calm himself down, taking deep breaths.

Just then, Yuki cleared his throat to break the tension in the room. "You coming or what?" Yuki asked both Hikaru and Akira as he walked out of the room.

"Let's go Toya. It'll be fun." Hikaru turned around and walked out of the room. Akira hesitated.

"Toy-a!" Hikaru yelled from the hallway.

"Y-yes, I'm coming." Akira left the room**.**

* * *

Hikaru was waiting by himself in the hallway. The live broadcast had ended and Bad Luck had a couple of things to finish up. Akira excused himself only a few seconds ago to go use the restroom. Things were quite now compared to only a few minutes ago. Hikaru never would've imagined that Schuichi would be this popular and loved. Everyone in the audience was hanging on his every word that he spoke during the interview, and when he sang they cheered him on, wanting more. This was taking a while for it to sink in that his cousin was famous. That was very cool and Hikaru is happy that Schuichi is achieving what he had always wanted to do. He would never tell Schuichi this, though.

Hikaru's thoughts were interrupted when he just realized he was not alone anymore. He noticed a young girl with long, blond hair standing halfway down the corridor looking at him. Hikaru looked at the girl who wasn't moving or speaking. _This is strange. _Hikaru began to walk towards the girl. _Maybe she's lost. _He came to within a few feet of her and stopped. "Hello." The girl just stood there not breaking her gaze at Hikaru. "Are you ok?" Still, no response.

Suddenly she moved forward towards Hikaru and took his hand. _What is she doing? _"Um…"

"I see." The young girl spoke softly. "There is still a part of you that hasn't let go yet."

_What? What is she talking about?_

"He left you so suddenly and that has hurt you deeply." Hikaru's heart began to beat faster. "You're still not fully recovered from his sudden disappearance from a few months ago."

_Disappearance? _Hikaru was shocked to hear the words coming from this little girl. Images of Sai began to flash through his head. He began to shake. Somehow she knew. She knew about Sai. She looked up at Hikaru with a faint smile. "It was time for him to go. Try not to be too angry with him." These last words upset Hikaru. He didn't realize it until now, but part of him was angry at Sai for disappearing so suddenly. Tears began to well up in his eyes.

"He is where he belongs now. He is happy and at peace." Hikaru closed his eyes causing the tears to run down his cheeks.

"How do you know about Sai?" Hikaru asked in a quiet tone.

"Shindo?" Startled, Hikaru quickly withdrew his hand from the grasp of the little girl's and swiftly wiped the tears from his face. "Shindo, are you ok?" Akira came up alongside Hikaru.

'Yeah, I'm fine." Hikaru responded, his voice a little shaky. Akira studied Hikaru's face. _He's upset about something. Perhaps I won't push it this time._

Akira turned to the little girl. "Who's this?"

"I'm not sure. I just found her standing here."

"What's your name? Are you lost?" Akira asked the young girl.

"Kohane."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DON'T TOUCH HER!" A woman came running up behind the little girl and yanked her away from Hikaru and Akira.

"HOW DARE YOU GO NEAR HER!? DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT YOU COULD'VE DONE TO HER!?" The woman continued to violently scream at Hikaru.

She then turned to Kohane. "AND YOU, HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE YOU DON'T KNOW!"

"Please, don't yell at her." Akira pleaded with the woman.

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!"

"But, she didn't do anything wrong." Hikaru added. "Why are you so upset?" This was the wrong thing to say. The woman turned to Hikaru boiling with rage.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK BACK TO ME!? I'LL TEACH YOU SOME MANNERS!" The woman quickly approached Hikaru and raised her hand in order to hit him. Hikaru saw what was coming and tensed up, waiting for the coming blow.

"Shindo!' Akira jumped in between Hikaru and the woman and threw his arms around Hikaru to protect him. "Ah!" The woman ended up hitting Akira in the back of the head. Akira just stood there still holding on to Hikaru. Hikaru opened his eyes and found his head buried in Akira's chest.

"DAMM KIDS! YOU HAVE NO RESPECT AT ALL FOR ADULTS!"

Gun shots rang out flying past where Hikaru, Akira, Kohane and the woman stood. Akira hung on to Hikaru tighter and closed his eyes. Kohane flinched but stayed where she was. The woman tensed up, crouched on the floor, covered her head with her arms and screamed.

The shooting finally stopped. Akira opened his eyes to see K approaching them. The look on K's face scared Akira. He looked seriously pissed off. Akira noticed that K still held his gun and as he made his way over he released the clip from his gun and let it fall to the floor and replaced it with a new clip. K cocked his gun, walking past Hikaru and Akira and stopped right in front of the woman who was still cowering on the floor.

K aimed the gun at her. "I'm not sure what's going on here, but I'm sure there was no need for all the screaming."

"Y-you don't know anything." The woman's voice was shaky, but still angry. "They could've hurt her."

K looked at the young girl. "I thought they were just speaking to her?"

"They can't just speak to her whenever they feel like it!"

"Mother." Kohane spoke.

"Mother?" K whispered to himself. "This is your daughter?"

The woman finally looked up at K. "Of course she is! As her mother I must do everything I can to protect her."

"Believe me, I understand that, but this is going…"

"You can't possibly understand!" She began to raise her voice. "She could lose her power if she's not careful. I must make sure I do everything I can to prevent that from happening."

K wasn't sure what she was talking about. _Power? This woman is a total nut case! I can't leave this little girl with her mother._

"Oh, there you are. I was wondering why you weren't at the studio yet." A man approached wearing a suit. He approached from behind Kohane and her mother. "There really is no need for that K."

"You know him?" Kohane's mother asked, turning as she could to face him. He offered his hand to her and he helped her up.

"Oh yes! He's a bit of an off the wall sort of fella. Well, we must be going now."

The woman, Kohane and the man turned to leave.

"Wait!" K demanded.

"It's ok Mr. K. I'll handle things from here." They turned and walked down the hall and out of sight. K was still angry at the entire situation but mostly by the fact that he had to witness a small child being mistreated by her mother. He tried to calm himself down. He put his gun away in its holster. He turned around and walked to where he dropped his clip and went to retrieve it.

Akira still held onto Hikaru even after everything was over. "Um, Akira?" Hikaru's words were muffled.

_Hikaru, thank God, you didn't get hurt _They stood like that in silence.

_Why isn't he letting go? _Hikaru began listening to Akira's heart beating through his chest. It somehow had a calming effect on him. He lost all thought and closed his eyes.

Akira was also in a daze. Holding Hikaru close felt comforting. He wanted to stay like this. Akira finally noticed K starting at them. "Huh?" Akira started feeling self conscious and quickly let Hikaru go. "Waa!" Hikaru almost fell over but quickly recovered. "Um…sorry." Akira looked off to the side.

"For what? Ah, Toya! Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Hikaru brought his hand up and reached out to touch Akira's head but Akira jerked his head slightly to prevent Hikaru from touching the spot that was still too sensitive from the blow he received moments ago.

'I'm alright, please don't worry."

"Oh." Hikaru brought his hand down to his side. An awkward silence hovered in the air.

"Well, I guess we should get going." K said as he turned and made his way down the hallway.

A little ways down from where Hikaru and Akira were standing, Schuichi was leaning up against a wall off the main corridor. Schuichi walked away before K or anyone else knew that he had witnessed the previous events.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Uninvited Guests**

"I'm surprised Schuichi is letting Yuki go." Hiro commented.

"I know. Usually he'd go with him or beg Yuki to stay." Fujisaki replied.

Hiro, Fujisaki, K, Sakano as well as Hikaru and Akira were standing next to the limo in the parking garage. Yuki and Schuichi were apart from the group, talking. They felt they should leave this way to avoid any fans still hanging around.

"I don't understand." Hikaru began. "Why does Schuichi want to hang around with Yuki so much? He doesn't seem very nice." Everyone looked at Hikaru. They couldn't believe the words that he had just spoken. No one was sure how to respond to that. Hikaru noticed everyone looking at him. "Huh?"

"Aren't you aware of the nature of Yuki and Schuichi's relationship?" This was the first time Fujisaki spoke to Hikaru.

"They're roommates."

"Man, you really are dense."

"What!?" Hikaru raised his voice. "How dare you say that I'm dense!"

"Then you would've figured out by now that your cousin and Yuki are lovers!" Fujisaki couldn't take it anymore. Hikaru was taken aback by this last statement.

_He didn't just say lovers, did he?_

Yuki and Schuichi turned to the group near the limo not really sure what was going on. Yuki stared for a few more seconds. He turned and walked towards his car. "I'm leaving."

Schuichi turned to the departing Yuki. "Yuki!? Won't you at least give me a good bye kiss?"

"Go to hell!"

"Aww, don't be mean Yuki!" Yuki got in his car. "I'll see you at home! I love you!" Schuichi smiled and waved. Yuki started his car, slammed on the gas and bolted out of the parking garage causing everyone to jump out of the way.

"The guy never changes." Hiro remarked. "Why didn't you go with him?"

Schuichi joined back up with everyone. "Yuki's starting on a new novel tonight. If I went with him, I'd just be in the way and besides," Schuichi raised his voice while showing a big grin on his face. "I want to hang out with you guys!"

"Are you sure?" Hiro asked, suspicion filling his voice.

"Of course!"

"Well, I should be going as well." Akira slightly bowed. "Thank you for everything."

Akira began to turn to leave when he found there was an obstruction in his path. "Now, where do you think you're going?" Schuichi asked.

_How did he get over here so quickly? _"Um, well, I should probably get home."

"We can give you a ride."

"That's very kind of you, but I think I'll just take the train." Akira tried to go around Schuichi but Schuichi just moved in front of him.

"No, no. I insist." Schuichi was practically singing his words.

"We should all get going. We shouldn't linger here much longer." K said as he opened the back door to the limo.

Schuichi, Hiro & Fujisaki were seated on one side of the limo while Hikaru and Akira were seated directly across from them. Hikaru wasn't sure what to talk about. He hated this silence. He wanted Akira to say something but Hikaru had a feeling that he wouldn't speak unless he spoke first. "So, um, is this your first time riding in a limo, Toya?"

"No. Is it your first time in a limo?" Akira responded his tone even.

"Ha! No." Hikaru folded his arms and spoke in a rather self important manner. "I've ridden in limos many times."

"With your cousin?" Hikaru unfolded his arms. He turned to Akira. "No. Not with my cousin." Hikaru got angry.

"Really?" Akira began. "I didn't realize you were the type of person who rode around in limos so often."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hikaru was now yelling at Akira.

"It means what it sounds like!" Akira began yelling as well.

"What are you doing, Schuichi?" Hiro leaned in close to Schuichi so as to not be overheard.

'What ever do you mean?" Schuichi said as innocently as possible.

Hiro wasn't buying into Schuichi's 'naivety'. Hiro frowned. "You're up to something."

"I agree." Fujisaki intruded on the private conversation. Hiro and Schuichi looked at Fujisaki. He remained fixated on the argument happening in front of him. Hiro sighed and leaned back in his seat. He wasn't in the mood to argue with Schuichi. _I guess I'll find out soon enough._

The limo pulled up in front of N-G Productions. Hikaru and Akira's argument had faded at this point. "I wonder what Mr. Seguchi thought of tonight's show." Sakano said to K. "Well, I'll see everyone tomorrow." Sakano exited the limo and shut the door.

"Now then, where am I taking our guest?" K looked at his passengers through the rear view mirror.

"Oh, where should we go?" Schuichi looked at Akira.

"I don't understand." Akira looked back at Schuichi.

"Let's go somewhere and have fun! Where do usually go to have fun Toya?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know that as well." Hikaru was very curious to find out the answer.

_You should already know the answer to that, Shindo. _"I don't mean to be rude, but I should probably get home."

"That's right. Schuichi, his parents are probably wondering where he is." Hiro was trying to get Schuichi to leave Akira alone.

"Actually, my parents aren't home."

"Where are your parents, Toya?" Hikaru asked.

"They went to Kyoto for a few days. Since my father retired, they decided to go on a trip together."

"So you have the whole house to yourself?" Schuichi asked.

"Well, yes."

"So what's the problem? Come out with us."

"Schuichi!"

"Thank you, but I had a long day and I'm a little tired. Perhaps another time." Akira tried to be as polite as he could.

"But…" Schuichi began but Hiro slapped his hand over Schuichi's mouth.

"I'm sorry about this." Fujisaki apologized. Schuichi began struggling with Hiro. "Just tell K where you want him to take you."

The limo pulled up in front of Akira's house. "Thank you for the ride." Akira opened the door and was about to leave.

"Well, Hikaru?" Schuichi looked at Hikaru. "Aren't you going to walk him to the door?"

"What!?" Hikaru began to blush.

"That's ok. I can take care of myself. Good night." Akira stepped out of the limo and closed the door.

"Hikaru! Go with him!"

"Why?"

"Don't argue! Just go!" The limo door opened and Hikaru was thrown out.

"What the heck, Schuichi!"

"Shindo?" Akira stopped a little ways from the limo.

Hikaru looked at Akira not sure what to say. He looked away. _This is so stupid! Why is Schuichi making me do this! Oh well. I guess I have no choice._ Hikaru sighed. "Let's go Toya." Hikaru started walking towards the entrance to Akira's house. He stopped ahead of Akira. "Well, come on. What are you waiting for Toya?" Confused, Akira obeyed Hikaru's instructions.

"Come on Hikaru. Go with him!" Schuichi was watching his cousin through the rear window of the limousine talking to himself. Hiro and Fujisaki joined him. They watched in silence with Schuichi still begging silently for his cousin to go with Akira. Schuichi's eyes began to brighten up when he saw Hikaru and Akira walk through the entrance. "YES!"

"Having Hikaru walk Akira to his door isn't going to accomplish anything." K observed.

"Ahhh!" Everyone screamed and jumped back. K somehow made his way to the back seat without the members of Bad Luck knowing and watched the events outside the limo alongside them.

"He's right Schuichi." Hiro agreed. "Right now I don't think anything is going to work unless you first get Hikaru to realize his feelings for Akira."

"But, I was hoping he would've realized that by now." Schuichi said in a quiet voice. "If that's the case," Schuichi declared. "I'll just have to restrategize!"

"I'm sorry about Schuichi." Hikaru said to Akira as they walked the short path from the entrance to the front door. "He could be a pain at times."

"Reminds me of someone I know."

"Really? I wonder who that would be." Akira found this somewhat amusing. He knew exactly what Schuichi was trying to do, but Hikaru had no clue. He chuckled. _This is so like him._

"What so funny?"

"Nothing." They continued walking. Hikaru was too busy looking at the house and his surroundings to notice Akira's eyes fixated on him._ Hikaru has feelings for me. I can't believe I didn't realize it until now. I had to have a complete stranger tell me this. I feel a little stupid. But it has also helped to explain the feelings I've been having for Hikaru. I didn't understand them until tonight. I enjoy being with Hikaru and I like him, but is this love that I'm feeling? I wonder if he is even aware just yet what he is feeling. _

"Wow, this is where you live? Your house sure is big." Hikaru interrupted Akira's thoughts. "Huh? Toya? Is something wrong?"

"No. I'd better be going. Good night, Shindo."

"Ok, good night." Akira slid open the door and went inside. He closed the door behind him. Akira leaned up against the door and closed his eyes and let out a big sigh. He stayed there for a minute.

He didn't take more that two steps into his house when he was startled by the knock at his front door. _I wonder who this is. _Akira reached for the door and slid it open. "Yes?"

"Hi!" Akira was surprised to see everyone he just left standing at his front door. "We figured since you'll be home by yourself tonight, we should keep you company."

"Ah, wait Schuichi!" Hikaru pleaded as he was dragged past Akira. Akira watched them go further into his house.

"Wait!" Akira tried to stop them. Fujisaki walked in and then K. Hiro stayed at the front door with Akira.

"I'm sorry about all this, but once Schuichi has made up his mind about something, it's near to impossible to convince him otherwise."

Akira sighed. "I guess I have no choice."

Akira removed his shoes and walked further into his house. He caught up with everyone else standing around in the main room. Akira removed his jacket. "I'll get everyone something to drink." Akira left the room and made his way to the kitchen.

"I'll help." Hiro followed Akira out of the room.

"Hiro!" Schuichi loudly whispered, but was unsuccessful. "But Hikaru was supposed to go with him."

"Yeah right, Akira's probably really mad right now and I wouldn't want to be alone with him." Hikaru stood next to his cousin.

"Oh he's not mad. Stop worrying."

"Schuichi, is it true?"

"Hmm?" Schuichi looked at his cousin.

"Is it true what Fujisaki said earlier about you and Yuki….being…..l-l-lo-lov…"

"Lovers?" Schuichi finished for him.

Hikaru blushed and looked away from Schuichi. "Yeah." Hikaru said quietly.

"Yes it is!" Schuichi answered loudly. He then looked at his cousin and spoke normally again. "Why? Do you find that strange?"

"A little." Hikaru faced Schuichi again. "I mean, Yuki is a guy. Doesn't that bother you?"

"Well, at first I wasn't sure what to think. I never thought about it before, falling in love with a guy. When I met Yuki it all happened so fast. I fell in love before I even knew what was happening. But I have no regrets. I'm glad I met Yuki. He's what keeps me going every day."

Hikaru listened while his cousin spoke of his love for Yuki. He wasn't completely against it. It's just like Schuichi said, he's never thought about it before, so he wasn't sure what to think.

"But Yuki is so mean to you. How do you stand it?"

"You're one to talk." Fujisaki once again intervened in a conversation he was not involved with to make his opinion known. Hikaru turned to look at Fujisaki who was now walking away from him and Schuichi. He didn't understand what his latest comment meant and why he had to be cruel to him at any opportunity he got.

"Oh, that's just how Yuki is in front of other people." Schuichi continued answering Hikaru's question. "He doesn't know how to express himself very well. But he really is a sweet person. He could be really nice to me when he wants to."

Hikaru turned back to Schuichi. "But what about other people? Don't you worry about what they think?"

"Someone once told me that it doesn't matter whether you fall in love with a guy or a girl. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters."

We're back." Hiro said as him and Akira returned with trays filled with cups of tea. They placed them on the small table.

"Would anyone like some tea?" Akira asked.

"Thank you." K walked over and Akira handed him a cup. "If anyone else wants any, they're right here.

"Are you ready Hiro?" Akira asked.

"Sure, whenever you are."

"W-what's going on?" Hikaru asked.

"Toya and I were talking in the kitchen. He just told me he plays Go as well so I thought I'd play him."

_Hiro is going to play Toya? He has no idea what he's getting himself into._

Everyone followed Akira and Hiro to the other room. There was a Go board set up in the middle of the room. Since no one had anything else to do they decided they'd watch Hiro play Go against Akira. Akira and Hiro sat opposite each other with the Go board in between them. Akira handed Hiro a Go bowl. Hikaru sat down next to the board so as to watch the game. Schuichi followed suit. K and Fujisaki remained standing. They both removed the lids to the Go bowls and took out stones and placed them on the board.

"What?" Hikaru couldn't believe it. "You're going to play an even game with Toya?"

"Yeah, so? Is there a problem with that?" Hiro looked over at Hikaru.

"You won't last very long against him."

"And you would?"

"You don't know Toya like I do."

"Well then Shindo." Akira cut in to the conversation. "After I play Hiro, we can play a game." He looked at Hikaru. Hikaru got a little nervous at the look he was getting from Akira. _Oh no, I know that look. He's getting serious._

"I don't want to play you now." Hikaru responded getting serious himself. He looked into Akira's eyes as he spoke. "The next time I want to play against you is in an official match. Then and only then!"

"I look forward to it, Shindo." Their eyes remained locked until Hiro spoke.

"Well then shall we begin?"

Akira turned back to the board. Hiro got black and was going first. "Onegaishimasu." Hiro and Akira said almost in unison.

"Man, I didn't have a prayer." Hiro resigned the game only after playing for fifteen minutes. Hiro knew that he could've resigned sooner. He had no chance of catching up to Akira who was way ahead of him. He just wanted to stretch the game out a little more to see how far he could go, but that was pointless.

"Considering you haven't played for many years, I think you played really well." Akira complimented his opponent.

"You're just being nice. I know I wasn't much of a challenge for you, but I thank you for humoring me."

Just then the door bell rang. "I wonder who that could be at this time of night." Akira got up to answer the door.

"I got it." K said and walked out of the room. Everyone proceeded to leave the room to see who K was meeting at the door. When they returned to the main room, they got their answer.

"Hello everyone!" There standing next to K holding several plastic bags was Sakuma Ryuichi.

"Ryuichi? What are you doing here?" Schuichi wasn't expecting to see is idol/rival here of all places.

"Heeyyy, Schuiiichiiii!" Ryuichi dropped all the bags and jumped on Schuichi hugging him tightly. "I've missed you!"

"What's going on?" Fujisaki asked K.

"I called Ryuichi to pick up a few things at the store."

"Him? You called Ryuichi to bring everything?"

"Come on Schuichi! It'll be fun!" Ryuichi finally let go of Schuichi.

"I see." Hiro took out one of the items from one of the bags lying on the floor. "So this is the type of fun you had in mind."

"Beer?" Hikaru said.

"And some Sake it looks like." Hiro kept rummaging through the bags.

"I don't mind you being here." Akira began. "but I don't want alcohol…."

"Hello!" Ryuichi appeared in front of Akira and took his hand and shook it. "It's really nice to meet you. What's your name?"

"Um, Toya. Toya Akira."

"Akira, huh? That's an awesome name. Kumagoro likes it too!"

"Kumagoro?" Akira asked quite puzzled.

"Oh, I'm sorry! This is Kumagoro! He's my best friend! Say hello!"

"Um, h-hello." Akira wasn't sure what was going on. This was the strangest person he has ever met and he wasn't sure what to do.

"Wow! You look just like Schuichi! Are you his twin?"

"I-I'm his cousin, Shindo Hikaru." Hikaru was standing next to Akira. It was his turn to speak to the strange man K invited over.

"I'm a really big fan of Schuichi's! He's just too cool! I envy you for being his cousin! The two of you must be close!"

"All right Ryuichi. That's enough." K said.

"We'll talk later, 'kay?" Ryuichi left Hikaru and Akira by themselves. At this point, pretty much everyone was drinking beer. Someone had inadvertently helped themselves to empty cups to pour the sake into.

"What are you guys doing standing all by yourselves over there for?" Schuichi gestured for Hikaru and Akira to join them. Neither of them moved. "Come on!" Schuichi ran over and grabbed both of them and dragged them to where everyone else was.

"So which would you like?" Schuichi looked at both of them. Hikaru and Akira looked at each other confused as to what Schuichi was talking about. "You guys are hopeless." Schuichi picked up a can and a bottle. "Beer or Sake?"

"Are you asking which one we would like to drink?" Akira asked

"Yes, I am!"

"Neither. We can't drink that. It's alcohol!"

"So?"

"So? We're underage." Hikaru chimed in.

"Not you too, Hikaru. Listen, Fujisaki is only seventeen and he's drinking. Here." Schuichi poured a small amount of Sake into two cups and offered them to Hikaru and Akira. "Take it! There's absolutely nothing to worry about. Just have one drink. It's not going to kill you."

They both looked at him not accepting the drinks he was holding. He stared at them intently, not giving up. "Schuichi," Hiro started. "Don't…" Just then Hikaru grabbed one of the cups from Schuichi.

"Fine. If it'll shut you up. One drink."

"Shindo!"

"Toya! Don't start lecturing me." Hikaru took a sip of the sake. Then he took a gulp. Hikaru began to cough.

"Don't drink it that fast, you idiot! You've never had sake before so drink slowly." Schuichi said before he passed off the other cup to Akira.

"Schuichi, pass me another beer."

"Ok." Schuichi got up and brought more beer over to Hiro.

Akira just held the cup. "Don't worry Toya." Akira looked at Hikaru. "Just have fun tonight. How often do we get a chance to do something different like this? Let's just relax and enjoy." Akira didn't know if he could 'enjoy and have fun' as Hikaru said they should. He watched Schuichi and his friends laughing and running around the room. This was all new to him. He never knew people who would act like this: so stupid, so irresponsible, so carefree. Akira looked at his drink. Maybe Hikaru was right. _I've always lived life so conservatively. Maybe trying something different every once in a while won't hurt. _Akira lifted his cup to his lips and began drinking.

A few hours later, the excitement began to dwindle. Fujisaki and Ryuichi were passed out on the floor. K was curled up in a corner and fell asleep. Akira was trying to cover them with blankets, but he was having a hard time keeping his balance as he walked the room. His head kept spinning. "Be careful there Akira." Schuichi just returned from using the bathroom. "You should probably get to bed yourself."

"I'm all right." Akira wasn't being too convincing.

Hiro and Hikaru were finishing up their drinks. "For this being your first time drinking, you sure had a lot." Hiro commented.

"I didn't have that many!" Hikaru tilted his cup back as far as it could go trying to get the last drops. Schuichi grabbed the cup away from him. "Hey!"

"You've had enough, Hikaru. It's time to go to sleep."

"Oh no. I only have enough blankets for one more person. I'll need to get some more."

"Hikaru, you help him." Schuichi commanded his cousin. Schuichi helped his cousin up off the floor and Hikaru almost fell over.

"I'm ok." Hikaru pushed Schuichi away and gained his balance. He followed Akira out of the room. They proceeded down the hall.

"So where's your room Toya?"

"It's upstairs."

"I want to see it."

"Why?"

"Don't argue with me Toya! Let me see your room."

"All right, but I don't know what you expect to find." Akira led Hikaru to his room. He opened the door and turned on the light.

They stood there for a few moments. "See, it's nothing special." Akira was about to shut off the light when Hikaru moved forward into the room.

"Shindo? What are you doing?" Hikaru stood in the middle of the room not saying anything for a long time.

"It's so empty."

"Huh?"

"I thought there might be more to it." Hikaru spoke softly. "Am I missing something?" Akira entered further into his room.

"What are you talking about, Shindo?"

"Hikaru."

"What?"

"Call me Hikaru. I'm tired of being formal all the time with you."

"Shindo."

"No! Say my name! Just say it!" Hikaru still had his back to Akira.

Akira moved to shut his bedroom door. He didn't want Hikaru's noisy voice to wake up those asleep downstairs. Several moments of silence passed.

"Hikaru." Chills ran down his spine. He didn't realize how nice it would be to hear Toya say his name.

"Would you do the same for me?" Akira asked.

Hikaru stood there. "Would you only look at me then?"

_What?_

"I don't want you to look at anyone else but me. Not Ashiwara and not Ogata. Just me!" Akira didn't know how to respond to this. Hikaru turned around. "When will I catch up to you? When will I be a worthy opponent to you? I'm getting tired of waiting to finally face you and prove myself to you!" Hikaru's eyes began to fill with tears.

Akira walked up to Hikaru and embraced him. He held him tightly. "It's only been you. Since the first time we've met. No one else matters to me, Hikaru."

Hikaru flinched when he heard his name again. Hikaru slowly brought his arms up and hugged Akira tightly. He closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth emanating from Akira's body. Akira released his hold on Hikaru. He looked into Hikaru's watery eyes. He then leaned in slowly and lightly kissed Hikaru. Akira pulled back a little to see Hikaru's reaction. He didn't seem to mind the kiss he just received. Akira took this as an invitation to continue. Akira kissed Hikaru again, this time harder.

"Hikaru," Akira whispered sweetly. "Open your mouth." Hikaru responded to Akira's words. Akira began kissing Hikaru again. He slipped his tongue into Hikaru's mouth.

"Mmm!" Hikaru began to hold on to Akira even tighter than before. Their tongues intertwined. Pleasure from just this one deep kiss resonated within their bodies.

Akira removed his tongue from Hikaru's mouth and pulled his lips away.

"I'm sorry." Akira apologized.

"For what?"

"You're drunk and I'm taking advantage of you."

"You're drunk, too, Akira." Hikaru wrapped his arms tighter around Akira, pulling their bodies together. This time Hikaru kissed Akira. Akira enjoyed this fully.

It was getting quite intense in Akira's room. Both Akira and Hikaru became aroused. Akira didn't want this to go too far, but he couldn't ignore the fact that they both needed to be relieved. Akira slowly moved his hands down to Hikaru's waist. He began to unbutton and unzip his pants. He slowly slipped his hand into his pants and began to slowly stroke his member.

"Ah! Akira." Hikaru's breathing became faster. Akira whispered into Hikaru's ear. "Hikaru, will you do mine?" Hikaru fumbled getting Akira's pants undone. He used both hands. He untucked Akira's shirt and found his way to into Akira's pants.

Akira began breathing heavily. He couldn't believe how good Hikaru's hands felt. "Hikaru."

Hikaru's knees began to give way and he fell slowly to the floor. Akira followed Hikaru, both of them continuing to pleasure the other. Akira then raised his hips and moved them forward towards Hikaru. He grabbed his cock away from Hikaru and pressed his up against Hikaru's and proceeded to caress both. "AH!" Hikaru moaned loudly. Akira quickly covered Hikaru's mouth with his own devouring the audible moans of pleasure. "Mmm!" Hikaru grabbed onto Akira's shirt. Saliva dripped from the corners of Hikaru's mouth.

Akira stroked faster and began moving his hips. He was almost there. He wondered about Hikaru. The answer came sooner than he thought. Both reached their limit at about the same time covering Akira's hands with Hikaru's and his own liquid.

Hikaru dropped his head on Akira's chest. "You and I will be facing each other sooner than you think."

"Hmm?"

"You will get the chance you've been waiting for. Don't disappoint me, Hikaru."

* * *

Slowly he opened his eyes. The room was blurry at first, but it gradually came into focus as he blinked. "Ahh!" The light that was reflecting off of the ceiling from the outside was too bright for him. He brought his hand up and placed it on his forehead, which was pounding.

_What happened? _Akira thought to himself.

Akira was lying on his back on his bed. He turned his head to look at his clock.

10:16am.

_That late already? I should probably get up._

Akira tried to move, but found that he was unable to. His body felt heavy. He lifted his head and looked down at his body, wondering what was wrong with him. His head froze, his eyes grew wide. _What the hell? _"Shindo. Shindo!" Akira tried to shake Hikaru awake.

Hikaru was lying on top of Akira. His head was resting on Akira's chest. They were still wearing the clothes they had on last night. Hikaru moaned and shifted his body a little. It took Akira a minute to recall the events that occurred last night. He began to blush. He couldn't believe he did such things with Hikaru. Yes, they were drunk but he still remembered the pleasure he felt from Hikaru touching him. He tried to put it out of his mind. "Shindo!" Akira spoke louder.

"Five more minutes……" Hikaru mumbled and trailed off

Akira put his head back down and sighed. He stared at the ceiling. _I don't mind Hikaru lying on top of me, but I need to get up._

"Shindo! Wake up!" Akira shouted towards the ceiling.

"Hi-ka-ru! How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Hikaru!" Hikaru lifted his head off of Akira's chest. He pushed himself up and found himself face to face with Akira. At first Hikaru was frowning then he had a look of confusion on his face. Akira's expression didn't change.

"Good morning, Hikaru."

Hikaru blushed. "Ahhh!" Hikaru pushed himself away from Akira. He was moving so fast he tumbled off the futon.

'Ouch!" Hikaru put his hand up to his forehead. _My head is pounding._

Akira slowly sat up. He put his hand on his forehead. He held it there, hoping the pain would go away soon.

They both sat there, holding their heads in their hands. They sighed and said in unison: "I'm never doing that again."

They stopped and looked at each other, realizing what they just did. Hikaru blushed and quickly looked away.

_I wonder if he remembers what happened last night. _Tension hovered in the room. "Um, Akira? Uh, no, I mean, uh, Toya?"

"Do you want something for you headache?" Akira slowly stood up. He made sure he was able to stand without falling over before moving. He walked over to Hikaru and reached out to him. Hikaru looked at the outstretched hand. He grabbed Akira's hand and Akira pulled him up.

"Oh, my head!" Hikaru put his hand up to his head again while still holding onto Akira.

"I should have something in the medicine cabinet." Akira released his grip on Hikaru.

Akira walked over to his bedroom door. He reached for the handle and was about to pull it open, but he hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Hikaru asked and walked up beside Akira.

"The door feels heavy for some reason."

"Heavy? Is it locked?"

"No, it's not locked." Akira was perplexed. He took both hands and pulled the door handle to the right. It wasn't as heavy as he thought, but as the door slid open something landed at his feet.

"Ahhh!" Hikaru jumped back. Shocked, Akira moved back a few steps.

Laying on the floor half in the hallway and half inside Akira's room was Schuichi.

"Schuichi?" Hikaru said a little confused. Schuichi was sound asleep. Schuichi falling on the ground wasn't enough to wake him, but Hikaru's building anger was.

"SCHUICHI!!" Hikaru went up to Schuichi forgetting all about the pounding headache he woke up with. He began shaking Schuichi awake.

"Looks like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed."

"I don't want to hear that from you!" Hikaru was yelling at Schuichi holding him by the shirt. "What the hell were you doing outside of Toya's room?"

_He didn't overhear us last night, did he? _Toya began to worry.

"I guess I just passed out right outside the door. I really can't remember much."

"Schuichi!" Hikaru gripped tighter on his cousins' shirt, not believing a word he just said.

"Oh, I see you guys are awake too." Hiro appeared in the entrance to Akira's room. He looked at Schuichi and Hikaru. He sighed. "What did you do now, Schuichi?"

* * *

_I hope he is ok. This isn't like him. _Ogata drove quickly down the streets, making his way to the Toya residence. _I told his parents that I would keep an eye on him. If anything should happen to him…._ That last thought was too much for him. He pressed down on the gas pedal so he would get there faster.

He pulled up to the front and parked his car. He got out and made his way to the front door.

"Excuse me."

Ogata turned around to see a young man in a dark suit and a hat standing a few feet from him. "Can I help you?"

"I hope so."

* * *

Akira, Hikaru, Schuichi and Hiro managed to make it downstairs without Hikaru killing Schuichi. Akira got everyone water and offered them medicine for their hangovers.

"I don't feel good at all." Ryuichi began whining. Akira walked over to him.

"Here, have some water." Ryuichi took the water. "Here, take these. It'll make you feel better."

"Ahhh! No! Get it away! Get it away!" Ryuichi dropped his cup of water and ran over to K and hid behind him. "I don't want to take the medicine! Don't make me take it! Kumagoro doesn't want any either!"

Akira found Ryuichi to be a very odd person. He was clearly older than Akira but he acted like he was a five year old. No matter how much he contemplated Ryuichi's personality, he could come up with no reasonable explanation as to why he is like that.

"Tohma! Help!" Ryuichi screamed behind K. Everyone looked at Ryuichi. Why was he calling out Tohma's name?

"So, you are here Ryuichi." The new voice came from the far end of the room. There they saw two men. One was tall with blonde hair and glasses. He wore a white suit, a dark blue dress shirt and a yellow necktie, while the other person, who was shorter, also had blonde hair. But he wore a dark suit and a hat.

"O-Ogata!" Akira said surprised.

"Oh, Tohma!" Ryuichi ran over to Tohma and jumped on him. The other man took a couple of steps away.

"What's wrong Ryuichi?"

"Oh Tohma. Kumagoro and I don't feel so good. We both have really bad headaches."

"It's ok, Ryuichi."

"They even tried to give me yucky medicine!"

Tohma turned to K. "Really, K. I can't believe you let Ryuichi drink. I expected better out of you."

"Lighten up, Tohma. I was with him the whole time."

"That doesn't matter." Tohma gave K a nasty look. "Remember, you're Ryuichi's FORMER manager. I would appreciate it if you would leave Ryuichi out of any more of your schemes. And that goes for all of you." Tohma looked at everyone in the room. Tohma then put his arm around Ryuichi and turned to the man beside him. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate you getting me in here. Come on Ryuichi. I'll take you somewhere where you'll feel much better." Tohma began leading him out of the house.

"Really? You won't make me take any yucky medicine?"

"I wouldn't think of it."

"I wonder how he found us." K spoke to himself.

"Akira. What is going on here?"

"Ogata."

"I told your parents that I would look after you while they were gone. I didn't think I would have to check up on you at all while they were out. I thought you would be at the Go Salon the majority of the time, but I find you here having a party with Shindo." Ogata shot a look at Hikaru. Hikaru quickly hid behind his cousin. "I didn't realize the two of you had become such good friends. And who are these people?"

Ogata turned back to Akira not waiting for an answer to his question. "You missed all your teaching games this morning."

"AH! Oh no!" Akira panicked. "I'm sorry!"

"I covered for you. I told them that you weren't feeling well today. I guess I was telling the truth." Ogata approached Akira. "You surprise me, Akira."

"What to you mean?"

"I never thought you were the type to 'have fun'. And drinking at your age. I'm sure your parents wouldn't be too happy about that."

Akira became frightened at the thought of his parents finding out that he'd been drinking and had gotten drunk. "Um, Ogata! Please! Don't tell my parents!" Akira bowed low to Ogata.

"Why don't you cut him some slack?" K jumped in to the conversation.

Ogata turned to K. "You're an adult. Why did you allow this to happen?"

"Everyone needs to do something different every once in a while."

"And you consider giving underage kids alcohol 'doing something different'? Aren't you aware that Akira is a professional Go player on his way to the top? He can't have anything interfere with him reaching his goal." Ogata turned back to Akira. "I won't say anything to your parents, Akira."

"Thank you, Ogata." Akira bowed low again.

"I won't be as forgiving the next time, so just make sure you don't do anything as stupid as this." He let a quick moment pass by. "I never thought I'd be lecturing you, Akira. It's funny how you think you've got some people figured out and then they turn around and do something that is very much unlike them."

"And that's what makes life so interesting." K commented.

Ogata looked at K for a few seconds. "Well," Ogata began walking to the door. "It looks like you have a lot to clean up Akira. I'll see you tomorrow at the Go Salon. Don't be late."

Akira watched as Ogata left. He didn't want Ogata to see him like this. He felt quite embarrassed and ashamed of himself. At least his parents weren't here. That would've been much, much worse.

"Um, Toya?" Hikaru walked up to Akira. "Are you ok?"

Akira was staring off into space. "I'm fine." Hikaru knew that he wasn't.

'Don't worry about him." K walked over to Akira. "Even though he acts like an ass, he seems like the type of person to keep his word."

"I know. Ogata has always kept his promises." Akira moved forward and bent down to pick up a beer can that was knocked over on the floor. "I wonder what he must think of me now." Akira said quietly to himself. He proceeded to pick up the room.

"All right guys, lets help clean up before we leave." K ordered everyone.

Akira continued picking up trash. _What? _Akira walked over to one of the sake bottles and picked it up. "Where did you get this?" Akira asked, afraid what the answer might be.

"Oh," Schuichi began. "I got that from the cabinet in the kitchen. I noticed we were running low on alcohol and Hikaru just kept on drinking."

"Hey, don't blame this on me!"

"This was my father's." Akira was getting more upset.

"Nice going, Hikaru." Fujisaki said.

"I had no idea that was his father's!"

"Oh, I'm sure you could just replace that with no problem." Schuichi tried to assure Akira.

"This wasn't just any ordinary sake. This was a very rare and expensive brand. I highly doubt I'd be able to replace it so easily and before my parents come home." Akira's stomach sank. How was he going to explain this to his parents? Akira thought this was probably the worst thing that could happen to him.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**The Bottle**

"YAY!!" Schuichi began to laugh and threw his hands in the air still holding onto the video game controller. "This is great! I don't think I've ever been so lucky! If you don't watch out, I'm gonna win." Schuichi began taunting his video game competitor. He finally looked over at him. Hikaru was staring off into space, not paying attention to Schuichi's gloating.

Hikaru went over to Schuichi's apartment after school that day. He really didn't feel like going home and he certainly didn't feel like going to Morishita Sensei's study session tonight either. He called Waya and told him he wasn't feeling well, which in a way was true. It had only been one day since Hikaru drank Toya Mejin's sake and his head still hurt. He didn't mean to drink it. He was just caught up in the moment and things got out of control. This was his first experience getting drunk. His thoughts turned to Akira. He didn't mean to cause trouble for him and he really wanted to fix things. The thought of Akira being angry with him gave him a terrible feeling in his stomach.

"Hikaru?"

"Hmm? What?" Hikaru said half listening. He turned to look at Schuichi when he was met by one of the pillows from the couch hitting him in the face. "What was that for!?" Hikaru got angry.

"You deserved it."

"What?"

"You're not paying attention to the game. If you're not careful, I'm going to win." Schuichi leaned back. "I'd like to beat you fair and square but if I have to win this way, I guess I'll take it."

"What does that mean? You've never beat me at this and I'm not about to let it happen now!" Hikaru yelled. He grabbed his controller. "Let's go!"

They continued playing. As they got more and more into the game they each began pushing the buttons on their controllers faster and faster. "Come on, come on." Hikaru said under his breath. A few moments later, "YES!" Hikaru shouted. "I'm still undefeated! I told you, you wouldn't be able to beat me!"

Schuichi laughed. "Yeah, I guess not. I don't think I'll ever be good enough to beat you."

Hikaru quickly changed moods from being happy and excited back to feeling down and depressed. He knew that Schuichi was trying to distract him and it worked for a while, but the underlying problem still remained.

"Are you hungry?" Schuichi asked as he put away the game system.

"Not really."

"Come on, you should eat. Let me make you something." Schuichi got up off the floor. Hikaru stood up as well.

"You can cook?"

"Yeah." They walked to the kitchen. "What? Are you surprised?"

"A little."

"Come on give me some credit." Schuichi opened the refrigerator door. "Let's see what we have."

'When is Yuki coming home?" Hikaru asked.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be home soon."

* * *

Yuki made his way down the hall to his apartment. He unlocked the door and walked in. Yuki immediately noticed the extra pair of shoes next to Schuichi's. He then heard the faint voices coming from the kitchen. Yuki quietly shut the door and took off his shoes. He then walked in the direction of the kitchen.

"….you can't have this one!"

"Why not? I need it!" The kitchen door was open enough for Yuki to peer through. He saw Hikaru trying to grab something out of Schuichi's hand. He couldn't quite see, since the door was in the way.

"But this is Yuki's!" Schuichi was trying to push Hikaru back away from him. "And besides, it's half full."

"I don't care…."

"You drink once, and you've already become addicted to alcohol?" Yuki walked in and grabbed the familiar bottle of sake away from Schuichi. "If you want to drink that bad go somewhere else to get loaded. Stay away from my stuff."

"Yuki."

"Please," Hikaru began. "I need that!"

"You can't be serious. You're that desperate…"

"No!" Hikaru interrupted. "I need that to replace an empty bottle!"

"You can't just expect to waltz in here and take whatever you want. What are you a moron?"

"Don't call me a moron!"

Schuichi stepped in. "Yuki, do you know where we can get a bottle of that particular sake?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"You see, the night we all got drunk, Hikaru accidentally drank an entire bottle of that brand of sake."

"You're the one who gave it to me in the first place!" Hikaru yelled.

"We need to get a replacement to give to Akira so that he won't get in trouble."

Yuki just stared at the two of them.

"And you think I'm going to help you?" Yuki turned around to leave. "Leave me alone."

Schuichi and Hikaru ran in front of Yuki to block him from leaving. "Yuki, we just need to know where to go to get that."

"I haven't the faintest idea where you can buy it." Yuki said getting quite annoyed.

"How can you not know? How did you get that one then?" Hikaru was losing his temper.

"I got it as a gift." Yuki raised his voice.

At this, Hikaru felt like he had reached a dead end. Schuichi looked at Hikaru for a moment. "Yuki, who gave it to you?"

"Tohma did for my birthd…" Yuki finally realized what Schuichi was asking. "You want me to see if I can get another bottle for you? Hell no!" Yuki tried to move but Schuichi kept stopping him.

"You could just ask him where he got it from."

"This isn't my problem. Akira should've known better when it came to you two. If you want it so badly, you ask him."

"But I'm sure if you ask, he'll get it for you immediately and we kinda need it by tomorrow." Yuki looked at Hikaru who was now off in his own world looking quite depressed.

The phone began to ring. "Excuse me, I need to answer that." Yuki began walked out of the room.

"Yuukkiiiii!!"

* * *

Yuki stood there starting at the door. After getting a rather annoying phone call from his sister, he took that as an opportunity to get out of the apartment before Schuichi and Hikaru gave him a headache. He brought his hand up to knock on the door. _Wait a minute, what am I doing? I'm leaving. _Yuki turned away from the door and began to walk away.

"Eiri?"

Yuki cringed.

"What are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine." Yuki turned around to face the person who was speaking to him.

"I never expected to see you here. Are you sure everything is ok, Eiri?" Yuki's brother-in-law carried a very worried expression on his face.

"I was nearby so I thought I would stop by." This was the best excuse Yuki could come up with at the moment. He tried to change the subject. "You're working late."

"That's what happens when you're company president, band producer and band member." Tohma moved towards his office door. "Would you like to come in?" Tohma smiled. Tohma didn't wait for Yuki to reply. He opened the door and walked in. Yuki hesitated for a moment before walking through the door Tohma was holding for him.

"Would you like something to drink?" Tohma closed the door and walked over to a small refrigerator.

"Sure."

Tohma took out a bottle and two glasses and poured drinks for both of them. Tohma walked over to Yuki with the glasses and handed one to him. Then he sat down in one of the chairs. He took a sip of his drink. "This is certainly a rarity, Eiri. You coming to see me. I'm always the one to come visit you."

"He's entertaining his cousin tonight." Yuki sat down to the left of Tohma.

"I see." Tohma took another sip of his drink. "How is Shindo? I trust everything is going well with you two?"

"The same as always." Yuki took a big gulp of his drink. The ice cubes clanked against the glass when he lowered it. "He drank all of my sake."

"Pardon?"

"The sake you gave me for my birthday. He drank it all." Yuki kept his eyes on his drink.

"Oh dear, that is too bad."

"Could you get me another bottle? Or at least tell me where you got it? I'd pay for it, of course."

Yuki looked up to see a stunned Tohma. "I'm glad you liked the sake so much." Tohma smiled at Yuki again. "I wouldn't dream of making you pay for it." Tohma put his drink down and got up. He walked over to his desk and opened a drawer. On his way back to his seat, he carried a white paper bag which he placed on the table in front of Yuki.

"I was going to give it as a gift to a TV producer that had Nittle Grasper on their show recently, but Ryuichi had other ideas in mind."

Yuki looked at the bag. "Thanks." He finished the rest of his drink and put it on the table. He stood up.

"Leaving so soon, Eiri?" Tohma looked up at him.

"I should get going. I need to make sure they're not tearing up the apartment." Yuki grabbed the bag and began to walk towards the door.

"I hate to say it, but I really do envy Shindo at times." Yuki stopped walking.

"You would never come to me if you needed anything. But if it's for Shindo, you wouldn't hesitate for a moment."

Yuki said nothing.

"I guess I shouldn't complain. I got a visit from you, after all."

"Go home, Tohma." Yuki walked out of the office.

* * *

Schuichi sat in the living room on the couch with Hikaru while he slept. It was late. Schuichi called his aunt to tell her that Hikaru was staying over and that he will make sure Hikaru makes it to school in the morning. Yuki left soon after receiving the phone call. He had no idea who it was or why Yuki was going out. Schuichi heard the apartment door open and then close. Schuichi got up to meet the person at the door.

"Yuki. Welcome home." Schuichi said in a low voice.

"Did your cousin go home?"

"No. He fell asleep in the living room waiting for you to come back."

"What an idiot." Yuki said to himself. "Here." Yuki handed a small white paper bag to Schuichi.

"What is it?"

"It's what you and your brat of a cousin wanted." Schuichi looked inside the bag.

"You got it? That's were you went?" Schuichi didn't expect this at all.

"Don't get the wrong idea." Yuki said as he walked past Schuichi and towards the bedroom. "It was a better choice that watching you sulk and listening to you bitch and whine for the next two months. Now I'm going to bed." Yuki walked into the bedroom and shut the door.

"Yuki." Schuichi said quietly as he smiled to himself.

* * *

"Hikaru, wake up. We have to get going soon." Schuichi was standing over Hikaru who was still asleep on the couch. Hikaru opened his eyes slowly.

"What time is it?" Hikaru asked.

"It's 6:30."

"6:30? I don't need to get up now." Hikaru turned away from Schuichi.

"We're going out to breakfast."

"I'm not hungry besides I'd rather sleep."

"Get up or you're going to have some serious problems." Hikaru immediately recognized this other voice he wasn't expecting. Hikaru turned his head and looked up to see a gun being pointed at him. He was now fully awake. "Ok, Ok I'm up." Hikaru slowly sat up and K retracted his weapon.

"Good. We're leaving in ten minutes. Make sure to be ready by then."

* * *

"So Schuichi, why did you call me out here this early?" K sat in the restaurant booth across from Schuichi and Hikaru.

"I need your help in making a special delivery."

'What would that be?" Schuichi handed K the small white paper bag.

"I need you to give this to Akira."

Hikaru looked at the bag and wondered.

"I guess there is a first time for everything. You got the sake before I did. How did you manage that?"

'K, you were trying to find a bottle as well?" Schuichi asked.

"You mean that's the sake?" Hikaru jumped in, excited.

"Yep, and it's all thanks to Yuki." Schuichi gloated. "See, Yuki's not such a bad guy."

Hikaru wasn't sure about his cousin's last comment.

"So you want me to give this to him?"

"Yes, but I also need another favor as well." Schuichi started. "Akira's parents are expected to be back today and Akira is in school, isn't that right Hikaru?"

"Yeah, he doesn't have any games scheduled today so he should be in school."

"So all I have to do is give this to Akira after he gets out of school and make sure he gets home before his parents do?" K summed up the situation. "That shouldn't be too hard." K drank the rest of his coffee and stood up. "I should get going. I have a lot to prepare."

Hikaru looked at Schuichi and then at K. He was very confused by the previous conversation that just took place between his cousin and K. _What is K going to do?_

K picked up the white paper bag and caught Hikaru staring at him. K smiled at Hikaru. "Don't worry Hikaru. It's all going to work out. I'll also make sure to mention your part in this as well." K turned around and left.

_What's he talking about? _"Um, Schuichi, what's going on?"

"Weren't you listening to what we've been talking about?"

"K is going to give Akira the sake. I got that part, but what about the part with his parents? How is he going to prevent them from coming home before Toya?"

"I don't know." Schuichi began to think. "But he seems to have an answer to solving any problem one way or another."

"Why doesn't that make me feel better?"

Schuichi turned to Hikaru. "K is the perfect person for this job. It's the only way to help Akira."

"Yeah, I guess."

"You're thinking about this too much. I'm sure Akira will be very happy to see you after today."

"The next time I'll see Toya is next week."

"Why do you say that?"

"We both have a full schedule of matches for the next couple of weeks. I'll be facing him officially for the first time next week." A combination of emotions showed on Hikaru's face. Determination, excitement and a bit of nervousness. He just stared at his food on the table.

"He must be a very good Go player for you to have that expression." Schuichi knew that look all too well.

"Akira is one of the reasons I became a professional Go player. I'll finally get to see how far I've come when I play against Toya."

"I had no idea." Schuichi said surprised.

"What do you mean?" Hikaru turned to his cousin.

"How could you not tell me that Akira is your rival?"

"Rival? How did you know?"

"I happen to know a thing or two about rivals. But he is more than that, isn't he?"

Hikaru just gave Schuichi a very confused look. Schuichi saw the question on his cousin's face.

"My rival used to be my idol. Your rival is also your lover." This fascinated Schuichi.

Hikaru blushed. "He's not…!"

"What's it like, Hikaru? Dating your rival?" Hikaru turned away from Schuichi. "Does this also mean that you consider him your Go Idol?" Schuichi thought out loud to himself then he turned back to Hikaru. "Come on." He saw Hikaru's ears were bright red. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. If you like him that much…"

"What makes you think there is something going on between me and Toya!?" Hikaru turned and screamed at the top of his lungs disturbing the few patrons and workers in the restaurant.

"What about the other night?" Hikaru's face turned bright red, but this time because he was remembering the night at Akira's. The memory of that night in Akira's room hit him so unexpectedly. He was trying for the last couple of days not to think about those events. The feeling of Toya's hands on him. He couldn't believe how good it felt! Hikaru closed his eyes and covered his mouth with his hand. They really did those things. They were drunk but it still happened and he remembered it and Schuichi, his cousin, knows what happened between them! What did Toya think about what happened, if he remembers that is? Part of him was afraid to find out.

Schuichi saw Hikaru staring off into space. "Um, Hikaru? Are you Ok?"

It took a moment for Hikaru to respond. Schuichi just observed his cousin. A moment later Hikaru removed his hand from his mouth. "I think I should be getting to school now." Hikaru didn't look at Schuichi.

"Did I say something to upset you?" Schuichi asked very concerned.

Hikaru forced a faint smile. "I'm fine, I just don't want to be late for school, that's all."

Schuichi paid the bill and they left the restaurant. "Have fun at school and don't worry, K will make everything right." Hikaru just smiled at Schuichi.

"See ya, Schuichi." Hikaru began to walk away from Schuichi. Schuichi stood there watching his cousin leave.

Hikaru was deep in thought the moment he turned away from Schuichi. How does he actually feel about Toya? Toya is his rival. There is no question about that. Catching up to Toya is one of his major goals. There has always been that feeling that he never understood or paid any attention to. Until now. What does it mean? Could he like Toya? Or perhaps he feels something even more? Hikaru stopped walking and turned to face his cousin. He knew there was one person who would be able to help him understand his feelings. Hikaru just stood there not moving.

"Hikaru?"

Hikaru closed his eyes. _Not now. _"It's nothing." Hikaru turned back around and continued walking down the street. _I can't ask you now. _

* * *

Two days had past since that night. Akira still hadn't come up with any solution to his problem. He wasn't going to go to Ogata. He was already upset with him and Akira didn't want to make it any worse. Ashiwara was still underage so he couldn't turn to him either.

Akira was at his shoe locker getting ready to leave school. His parents should be home by now. He began walking towards the school gate still pondering what he should do. Someone rushed past him almost knocking him over. Akira was taken away from his thoughts. He watched the kid that ran into him running past the school gate and around the corner. His gaze stopped at the familiar man standing at the gate. Akira stopped walking. _Why is he here? _

K stood on the sidewalk outside the school. He was wearing his sunglasses looking at Akira. Akira closed his eyes then sighed. He gripped his school bag tighter, opened his eyes and walked towards K. He really didn't need this right now. He had his own problems to deal with.

"You're looking a little pale there, Akira."

"What can I do for you Mr. K?" Akira ignored the comment.

"No 'hello, how are you K?" "It's good to see you again'? I'm hurt!" K pretended to be crying. Akira wasn't buying into the act. Students that were walking by were staring at them.

"I really need to be going." Akira began walking away.

"Wait, Akira!" K commanded.

Akira heard the other students screaming and saw them running away. He stopped walking wondering what was going on. He heard two consecutive clicks. Akira froze.

"And after I went through all the trouble to come and see you."

The expression on Akira's face was that of shock.

"Now turn around, slowly."

Akira turned around to face K. "Are you going to shoot me?" His expression was blank. No one was left in the area.

"That depends on you."

"And what exactly is it that you want from me?"

"To take this." K lifted the small, white paper bag he was holding.

Akira looked at the bag and then back at K. "What's that?"

"A present. And I suggest you take it quickly."

Akira hesitated for a moment and then began walking towards K. He took the bag. K lowered his gun and put it away.

"There, that wasn't so hard now was it?"

"What is it?"

"Why don't you see for yourself."

Akira put his school bag down and parted the handles of the bag and looked inside.

"H-how?" Akira couldn't believe his eyes.

"You have Hikaru and Schuichi to thank."

"Shindo?" Silence lingered. "I can't accept this."

"Of course you can."

"But…"

"Akira, Hikaru and Schuichi got that for you so you can avoid a confrontation with your parents. Think of it as an apology for all the trouble they caused."

"It's probably too late for that. My parents came home early this afternoon."

"No. They won't be home for another" K checked his watch. "Twenty minutes."

"How do you know?"

"I've arranged for a slight delay in your parents' arrival."

"How did you manage that?"

"I have my ways."

Akira was silent.

"Hikaru's been worried about you."

Akira didn't expect to hear this.

"Is it really that surprising to hear?"

"Why do you care what happens to me or to Hikaru for that matter?"

"I don't suppose you realize how much influence you have over Hikaru. When you're hurting, he's hurting, and when you're happy, he's happy."

"What are you talking about?"

"I need him to know that you're happy and not angry with him. He's no good to me the way he is now."

"I still don't understand."

"Right now you don't have to. But I suggest you get going." K looked at his watch again. "You have seventeen minutes left."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**First Date**

Akira watched silently as Hikaru placed the black and white stones on the board respectively. As he did, Hikaru spoke about the match he was replaying for Akira. They were at Toya Mejin's Go Salon. After their matches that day, they both had free time. "I think I did pretty well in this game." Hikaru smiled as he looked up at Akira after placing the last stone played on the board.

"I see." Akira observed. "You won by ten points."

Hikaru frowned and waited for Akira's next remark but it never came. "And?"

"And?" Akira kept his eyes on the board. "I really don't see anything wrong."

"Huh?" Hikaru's frown became confusion. _What? You're not going to criticize my game like you always do?_

"Except for maybe here." Akira pointed at the top right hand corner of the board.

_I knew it!_

"If you had played here" Akira pointed at an empty point. "Instead of here" Then he moved his finger over a black stone near that point. "You would have gained more territory and won by an even greater margin."

"So? I won didn't I?"

"Yes, but you should really pay more attention to where you place your stones. You're not being careful."

"You know, I actually thought for once I would hear you compliment me, but you always have to find something wrong."

"That's the point of us getting together like this, to point out each other's flaws…."

"You mean my flaws!" Hikaru raised his voice a little.

"Shindo?" Hikaru seemed a little more agitated than usual today. "Are you ok?"

Hikaru looked down at the Go board. "I'm fine." Hikaru moved his hands over the Go board moving all the stones into a pile.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm cleaning up."

"Yes, but you didn't have to."

"I should probably get going." Hikaru finished clearing the board and putting the stones away while Akira continued to sit and watch. He stood up. "Well, I'll see ya." Hikaru moved to the counter where Ichikawa was waiting and retrieved his bag. "Thank you." Hikaru took his backpack.

"You're welcome." Hikaru walked out of the Go Salon.

Akira remained seated where he was watching Hikaru as he got his bag and left. He finally got up and walked over to the desk that Ichikawa occupied. Akira kept his eyes on the door.

"Looks like the two of you got along pretty well tonight." Ichikawa observed. "That certainly doesn't happen very often."

"No, it doesn't."

"Will you be heading home as well, Aki…" Akira left before letting Ichikawa finish her sentence. He quickened his pace down the short hallway and out the door. Akira quickly checked in both directions. "Shindo!" He yelled to Hikaru who was walking down the street. Hikaru stopped and turned around to see Akira approaching.

"Something wrong, Toya?" Hikaru asked as Akira stopped in front of him.

"Shindo." Akira stared at Hikaru not saying anything for a while.

"Toya?"

"S-Shindo. Do you want to get something to eat before you go home?" Akira blurted out.

"What?"

"Do you want…"  
"I heard you the first time."

"Well?"

Hikaru sighed. "I guess. Did you have someplace in mind?"

"Not really. It doesn't really matter to me. Where do you usually eat?"

"Well" Hikaru thought. "I go to lots of different places."

"Pick one and we'll go there."

"Really?" He waited for Akira to say something but he just stood there. "Ok then." Hikaru smiled.

Hikaru sat across from Akira in the booth. They sat in the corner of the restaurant away from the rest of the other people. Akira unwrapped the hamburger he had just bought and held it. He caught Hikaru looking quite surprised at him.

"Is there something wrong?"

"This just doesn't seem right."

"What do you mean?"

"You holding a hamburger."

"What are you talking about?"

'You don't seem like the type of person who would eat at a place like this."

'I've eaten hamburgers before. And besides you're the one who picked to eat here in the first place."

"You could've said no."

"If I objected to this place then I would've refused to come here."

"Then why did you come here?"

"To have dinner with you remember?" _Why is Hikaru acting like this? _"You really think it's strange for me to be eating this?" Akira continued to hold the hamburger. "I'm curious to know what you think I normally eat."

"I don't know. Steak or something expensive like that. This place doesn't suit your personality at all."

Akira took a bite of his hamburger and swallowed it. "Whether it suits my personality or not, as long as you're here it doesn't matter."

Hikaru felt his face grow warm. Akira proceeded to eat his meal. Hikaru hesitated and then he also began to eat. This was awkward for Hikaru. Hikaru and Akira rarely socialized outside the Go Association or the Go Salon. Heck, that's the only reason the two of them would get together, to play or discuss Go. Why did Akira ask him to go out to dinner with him? He was having the hardest time trying to think of what to talk about. He didn't know anything about what Akira liked outside of Go. _Why doesn't he say something? He's the one who asked me here. He should be the one to initiate the conversation. Wait. Why am I getting so worked up over this? This is only Akira. _Hikaru looked at Akira._ Then why am I having such a hard time talking to him. Geez, I'm acting like we're on a date or something. _Hikaru picked up his drink and took a sip from his straw. _'…as long as you're here it doesn't matter.' _Hikaru stopped drinking, keeping the straw still in his mouth. His eyes were popped open. _No way! This isn't….it's not…. _Hikaru became very nervous all of a sudden. He looked at Akira and blushed. _Is this why you asked me out? Is this a date? Oh man! I wish I knew but I can't ask him that. That's too embarrassing_._ And what if it isn't? _Hikaru took another sip of his drink before putting it down however he wasn't thinking and 'cough, cough'.

"Are you alright, Shindo?"

'Cough, cough.' "Yeah. The soda just went down the wrong way." Hikaru coughed a little more and cleared his throat. "Sorry about that." A few moments passed. "Toya?"

"Yes?"

"Is there any particular reason why we're eating together?"

"Isn't this what people normally do when they go out on a date?"

"W-what!? Y-you m-mean this really is..?"

"I've been meaning to ask you out for a while now, but it was never the right time. I figured I'd better do something quickly before someone else got to you."

"Someone else? Like who?" Akira didn't answer. Hikaru's nervousness became worse. _I can't believe he came out and admitted it! I didn't think he would be so blunt! What am I supposed to do now?_

"Do you hate it?" Akira asked.

"Hate it?"

"Being on a date with me?" Akira looked Hikaru in the eyes. A feeling Hikaru couldn't understand welled up inside of him. His heart began to beat faster. He quickly looked away.

"You really do hate it." Hikaru panicked and looked at Akira.

"No, that's not it! I don't hate being on a date with you!" _Why would you say that?_ "I just didn't expect this. That's all!"

"So, you don't mind?"

Hikaru looked down, his face turning bright red. "No." Akira smiled. _For some reason I can't eat the rest of my dinner._

They left the restaurant a few minutes later.

"So what do we do now?" Hikaru asked as they stood outside.

"Well, I haven't planned that far ahead." Akira said somewhat to himself while thinking.

"You're just making this up as we go along, aren't you?"

"I hadn't had much time to think before asking you out."

"You mean when you asked me out tonight…"

"I did it spur of the moment."

"Well, that certainly is unlike you, Toya. Not thinking things through." Hikaru pointed at Akira.

A phone began to ring. Hikaru jumped. Akira pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. "Sorry." He said to Hikaru before answering it. "Hello?"

Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief. He thought it was his cell phone that was ringing. He dreaded the day K would call him.

"Oh, mother. I'm sorry. I guess I lost track of time. I'll be home soon." With that Akira ended the call. He looked at Hikaru. "Sorry Shindo, but I need to go home."

"Is everything ok?"

"Yes, I just forgot we were having company over tonight."

"Oh."

Akira looked at Hikaru. He grabbed Hikaru by the wrist and began walking.

"Ah, Toya!"

Akira dragged Hikaru down the street. "Where are we going?"

"Here." They stopped.

"The park?"

"It's on the way to the station."

"Yeah, if you want to take the long way."

Akira slid his hand from holding Hikaru's wrist to holding Hikaru's hand. Hikaru quickly retracted his hand. "What are you doing?"

"Can't we hold hands for a little while?" Akira turned to Hikaru. "Just a little while."

Hikaru hesitated before nodding. Akira smiled and took Hikaru's hand. They began to walk one of the paths in the park. Not a word was spoken between them as they went. _I guess this isn't so bad. Akira is holding my hand so gently. It's too bad you have to leave. I would've liked to stay with you a little longer. Sigh! So much for our first date._

"This isn't how I wanted our first date to go." Akira broke the silence. "Next time I'll make sure it's a proper date."

"What makes you think I'll go next time?"

"I thought you didn't mind being with me?"

"I don't. But this is all new to me."

"It's new for me too. But this is something I'd like to pursue."

"B-but, we're both guys." Hikaru spoke in a soft tone.

Akira smiled. "That does not matter because…"

"Ow!" 'SMACK!' Hikaru let go of Akira's hand and hit his arm. "Darn, it got away." Hikaru looked to the sky.

"What happened?"

"A bug tried to bite me."

"Where?" Akira looked at the arm that Hikaru hit. His fingers moved ever so lightly over Hikaru's skin. He looked intently at the area.

"T-Toya?" Hikaru felt a shiver run through him.

"The bug didn't get you. I don't see any marks." Akira let go of Hikaru's arm. A silence lingered between them.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What were you saying before?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I should get going before I miss the train."

"Oh, right."

"Good night."

"Good night." Akira began to walk away. Hikaru turned around to leave himself. "T-there's a festival next week."

Akira stopped walking and turned around. "I'm sorry?"

"If you want to go together we can." Hikaru kept his back to Akira. "If you're not busy, that is."

Akira smiled. "I'd be happy to go with you."

Before he knew it, the day of the festival had come. Hikaru dressed in regular clothes. He really didn't like wearing a yukata. "I wonder if Akira is going to wear one." Hikaru said to himself in his room while looking in the mirror. He just stared at his reflection. _I really like Akira. I like being with him, but I have all these new emotions that I'm feeling and I don't understand what they mean. _ "I wonder if this is how Schuichi felt when he started dating Yuki." Hikaru stood in silence for a few moments. "OOOhhhhh, SCHUICHI WHY AREN'T YOU AROUND WHEN I NEED YOU!!"

"Is everything ok, Hikaru?" His mother asked as he came downstairs. "I heard you yelling."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I'm going out to the festival." Hikaru made his way to the door.

"Like that? You're not going to wear your yukata?"

"It's not like I have to wear it and besides I don't really like wearing it." Hikaru sat on the floor to put on his shoes. "Are you and dad going?"

"As long as he gets out of work early enough. We might just make it to the fireworks."

"Well, I'm leaving." Hikaru stood up and left the house.

Akira waited near the entrance to the festival. He was wearing a dark blue yukata. He'd bee waiting for Hikaru for ten minutes.

"Toya!" Akira looked to see Hikaru running towards him. Hikaru stopped running when he reached Akira. He put his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. "Sorry…I'm…late."

"Why aren't you wearing your yukata?"

"Not you too." Hikaru said quietly to himself as he stood up.

"What was that?"

"Ah, nothing. Shall we go?" Hikaru walked ahead of Akira. Akira followed.

There weren't too many people around. It was still early in the day. The crowds would probably start forming in the evening for the highlight of the festival, the fireworks. Hikaru stopped walking to look around. "What do you want to do first?" Akira asked as he caught up to Hikaru.

"I'm hungry."

"What? But we just got here?"

"So? I haven't eaten yet today."

Akira sighed. "What do you want to eat?"

"I don't know." Hikaru looked at the stands that were near him. "Ah, I'll have some yakitori." Hikaru and Akira walked to the yakitori stand. There were a few people standing around the booth.

"Welcome." The man said to Hikaru and Akira. "What can I do for you?"

"I'd like some yakitori please. Four orders."

"Coming up."

"Four orders? Who's going to eat all that?" Akira asked.

Hikaru got his wallet out. "I'm going to eat them. I told you I haven't eaten today. I'm really hungry." Hikaru paid and took the food.

"Thank you very much." The man said.

Hikaru turned to leave when someone in front of him took one of his yakitori. He looked up to see Kaga standing in front of him eating the food he just bought. _Kaga! What the hell are you doing here? Wait…. _"Hey! What do you think you're doing? That's mine!" Hikaru tried to take it back but Kaga held it above his head so that Hikaru couldn't reach.

"You have enough to share."

"I wasn't intending on sharing it with anyone!"

"Not even with Toya?" Kaga glanced over at Toya who was standing behind Hikaru. "That's pretty cold."

"He doesn't want any."

"All that for yourself? You're certainly selfish." Kaga continued eating what he took from Hikaru. Kaga finished eating. "Thanks for the food. Nice to see you again, kid." Kaga roughly rubbed the top of Hikaru's head messing up his hair.

"Hey! Cut it out!"

"How's the Pro world treating you? Have you beaten Toya yet?"

"He hasn't. Hello Shindo. It's been quite a while."

"Tsutsui!" Tsutsui walked over carrying two small trays.

"I've been following your matches in Go weekly, Shindo. You've been doing very well. Especially against Toya, even though you haven't beaten him yet." Tsutsui finally noticed Akira. "Oh, hello. I'm sorry I didn't see you there. I'm curious to know what you think of Shindo's game."

Kaga and Hikaru were surprised by the question. They both turned to Akira, anticipating his response. Akira noticed the curious looks. "His kifu speak for themselves."

"But what is it like playing him? He's progressed a lot."

"Yes he has. Shindo makes the game very interesting."

_Interesting? What does he mean by that? _Hikaru thought.

"Kaga!" Tsutsui noticed the bamboo skewer in Kaga's hand. Kaga realized this and hid it behind his back even though he knew it was pointless.

"I told you I'd be right back with the food. Were you that hungry?"

"Yes I was! You took too long!"

"I was only gone for less than five minutes!"

Kaga took one of the trays. "Now you know to be faster next time."

Tsutsui decided to ignore the comment and turned to Hikaru. "We actually have to get going. We're meeting some friends. We should really catch up sometime Shindo. I know you're very busy with your match schedule, but when you have some free time, we should get together. Maybe you could come visit our Go club."

"That's great! You're school has a Go club?"

"He was the only member again when he started the club." Kaga put his arm around Tsutsui.

"Kaga!"

"He seems to be getting it together a lot faster than he did at Haze." Kaga released his hold on Tsutsui.

"Bye Shindo. I hope to see you soon." Tsutsui and Kaga walked away from Hikaru and Akira.

"Bye guys. Wow, I never thought I'd run into them."

"You were in the Go club together at Haze, weren't you?"

"Yeah. Tsutsui was the president of the club. Kaga was actually in the Shogi club, but he knew how to play Go so he would come by from time to time."

While Hikaru ate his food, they decided to take a walk around the festival. They quickly looked at stands that were selling souvenirs. Nothing really interested them enough for them to stop and look.

As the day went on, Hikaru challenged Akira to various games. The first game they played was fishing. Who could hook the most plastic fish with their fishing rods in ninety seconds? Hikaru and Akira played as well as five other people. At the end of the ninety seconds, it was determined that Akira won.

Hikaru sighed. "If I had gotten three more, I would have won."

"You would've won if you had just gone for it!" Hikaru and Akira looked over at two of the players arguing.

"I couldn't reach that far!"

"And here I thought I'd see you excel at something. Wimp!"

"Don't call me a wimp!"

"Hikaru?"

Hikaru turned. "Akari?"

"I didn't know you were going to be here." Akari smiled. "Oh, you're with Toya. Hello."

"Hello." Akira responded.

The smile on Akari's face slowly faded. "The two of you seem to have become really good friends since you turned pro, huh Hikaru?"

"We hang out every once in a while, when our schedules allow it."

Akira noticed the look on Akari's face. _I doubt Hikaru is aware of what he is doing to her. Is he really that unaware of her feelings for him? _

"Why aren't you wearing your yukata?"

"Don't start with me!"

"I'm sure you would've looked nice if you'd worn it."

"Give it a rest Akari."

"You didn't come by yourself, did you?" Hikaru asked, a little worried that Akari might just invite herself along on his date with Akira.

"No. I'm here with my brother."

"Brother?"

"He's been away because of work, but he was able to come back for the festival."

"I didn't know you had a brother."

"What? Hikaru! I've mentioned him several times before! You probably weren't listening to me."

"When did he ever listen to you?"

"Brother."

Hikaru and Akira stared in shock at the person who approached and took his place beside Akari.

"T-th-this is y-your brother?" Hikaru couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Hello again, Hikaru. I didn't think I'd be seeing you here." He stared coldly at Hikaru.

"Oh, so you've met?"

"Once before. It was the night Bad Luck appeared on TV before our tour started. His cousin introduced us."

"Cousin?"

"Didn't you know Akari? Shindo Schuichi is his cousin."

"I had no idea." Akari looked at Hikaru.

"Neither did I. It was a shock to learn that my sister's childhood friend is related to the lead singer in my group. Well, maybe not that much of a shock. The two of you act so much alike, it really makes me wonder what attracts certain people to you." He looked at Akira with hatred burning in his eyes. Akira stared right back at him not caving to his threatening look. "And why they forgive you for your stupidity is beyond me."

Akira was about to step in and say something but Akari beat him to it. "It's alright." Akari began. "It's alright, Suguru." Akari looked away from Hikaru and smiled at her brother. "You came back so that we could enjoy the festival together, so let's do that. Hikaru. I'll see you around. Have fun!" Akari dragged Suguru away.

Akira looked at Hikaru. "Shindo."

"Who would've thought he was Akari's brother?"

"I find it surprising that you haven't met him until now."

"I get the feeling he hates me. I wonder why?"

Akira couldn't believe what Hikaru just said. He decided to ignore his comment. "Come on Shindo. Let's go."

"Something wrong Akira?"

Hikaru and Akira played more games throughout the day. They took a break to eat dinner and then proceeded with playing more games, which was making Akira tired.

"What's with you?" Hikaru began yelling at Akira after he won the last game of ring toss.

"Did I do something wrong?" Akira asked in surprise.

"Did you do something wrong?" Hikaru asked back. "YOU KEEP WINNING!!"

"And that's bad?"

"Congratulations." The person manning the booth said to Akira. "You have a choice of prizes, either this teddy bear or this cell phone chain."

Akira looked at Hikaru who was pouting.

"I thought I heard you yelling." Waya and Isumi came up to Hikaru.

Akira looked at the prizes. "I'll take that one."

"Of course. Here you go."

"Thank you."

"Waya. Isumi. You're here too?"

"Yeah, we both had free time today. So what was all the yelling about?"

Waya saw Akira taking the prize. "Don't tell me you lost to Toya in ring toss? That's why you're so angry?"

"It's worse than you think. He beat me at every game we played today!"

"Really?" Waya turned to Akira. "I guess this means you're his rival in everything. You better watch out Shindo. If you ever get a girlfriend, Toya might just take her away from you." Waya started to laugh.

Akira didn't find this very funny. He was tired of this. He grabbed Hikaru by the arm. "Please excuse us." Akira pulled Hikaru away from Waya and Isumi.

"Huh? Where are they going?" Waya said to Isumi.

"I don't know. Perhaps it was something you said that drove them away."

"What did I say?"

"Toya. Toya where are you taking me?" Akira kept walking, pulling Hikaru along not saying a word. Hikaru could tell something was wrong, but he didn't have a clue as to what Akira could be so upset about. Akira took Hikaru into a wooded area near the festival.

"Toya!" Akira finally stopped walking and let Hikaru go. His back was still to Hikaru. "What's wrong?"

"This was a mistake."

"What?"

"It was a mistake to come here with you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I never thought we'd be having our second date so soon. And for that matter, you asking me out. I never thought you would do it. I was so happy. I didn't care where we were as long as we're together. However," Akira turned around. "All these interruptions. Running into people we know."

"I'm sure they don't know we're on a date."

"That's not why I'm upset."

"Then why?"

Akira grabbed Hikaru and pinned him up against a nearby tree. He kissed him deeply.

"Mmm. Someone could see us."

Akira kissed Hikaru again ignoring him.

_Why? Why is he doing this? I have to stop this!_

"Hikaru." Akira gently breathed into Hikaru's ear. Akira moved down to Hikaru's neck and began kissing.

"Akira. Stop." _God, this feels so good! My strength is leaving me. I can't push him away. I try but my body won't listen! _Hikaru's eyes began to close.

Akira moved back up and began playing with Hikaru's ear lobe with his tongue. Hikaru's mind was slowly melting away.

'BOOM! BOOM!' Fireworks began exploding overhead. Hikaru began to remember that he was at the festival with Akira. Akira slowly stopped what he was doing and turned to view the fireworks.

"W-we can't see them too well from here. Let's move somewhere else." Hikaru tried to move but Akira held onto him.

"Here is fine." Hikaru didn't feel like arguing, so he stayed with Akira looking through the opening in the trees up at the sky where the fireworks were released.

After the fireworks, Hikaru and Akira left the festival unnoticed.

"Hikaru?"

"Hmm?"

"Before you leave can I see your cell phone?"

"Sure. You need to make a phone call?" Hikaru took his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to Akira.

"….so seeing the fireworks makes up for you stupidity, wimp!"

"Stop calling me a wimp!"

_Hey it's those people from the fishing game._

"Thank you, Shindo."

"Huh? Oh." Hikaru turned back to Akira and took his cell phone back, but something was different. He looked at his phone.

"Thank you for inviting me. I should go now." Akira turned to leave.

Hikaru looked up to see Akira walking away. "See ya." He looked back at his phone. Akira had put the cell phone chain he had won earlier that day on his phone.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Decoy**

Hikaru played with the cell phone chain that was attached to his cell phone.

_Toya._

Hikaru hadn't seen Akira since the night of the festival.

'_Hikaru.' _Hikaru remembered the sweetness of Akira's voice, the heat of his breath against his ear. He brought his hand up and lightly touched the places Akira's soft lips caressed. He allowed himself a few more moments to replay those memories before putting them aside. Hikaru closed his eyes and breathed in and then out. The elevator rang to indicate it had reached its destination. The doors opened. Hikaru opened his eyes. He was barely out of the elevator when something was shoved in his face.

"Look what I got Shindo!" Hikaru tried to back up to look at what was in front of him, but he hit the elevator doors.

"What is it Waya?" Waya finally pulled back. Hikaru finally saw that he was holding a pair of tickets.

"I got two tickets to see Bad Luck tonight! I couldn't believe I got them. The show's been sold out for weeks now."

"Oh." Hikaru put his cell phone inside his pocket.

"I have Izumi to thank! We're going together."

"I didn't know Izumi was a Bad Luck fan."

"Well, he isn't a big fan like me, but he knows how much I love them. Especially Shindo. Um, I mean your cousin. Heh, heh."

"You're going to waste your time going to a rock concert?" Ochi came over to Waya and Hikaru.

"What I do with my free time is none of your business, Ochi."

"I would think that you would be studying harder to get better." Ochi pushed his glasses up with his middle finger. "No wonder you play at the level that you do now."

"What the hell does that supposed to mean?"

"All I mean is, if you use the time to improve your game instead of slacking off you would move up a lot faster."

"Who are you, my mother?"

"I'm just passing along some helpful advice. Take it or leave it." Ochi walked towards the game room.

"Whatever!"

"So Shindo will you be going to the concert tonight?"

"No."

"No! You're not going to see your cousin?"

"I don't have tickets."

"That shouldn't matter. He could get you in for free."

'I know."

"So why don't you?"

"I don't know. I've just been thinking about my match today. I'm playing against a 6-dan."

"That's right. Nervous?"

"A little." Hikaru walked past Waya and up to the match schedule that was posted. He searched the names of those playing today. Toya's name wasn't on there. Part of him was hoping to see Toya today.

"I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Yeah."

* * *

"He's been gone for over an hour!" Sakano began panicking. "Where did he go?"

"No one saw him leave?" K asked.

"No." Hiro began. "Everyone seems to remember seeing him here, but no one has seen him leave."

"Maybe he snuck out." Fujisaki suggested.

"That is a possibility." K thought. "The question is where would he sneak off to?"

"Isn't it obvious? He probably went to see Yuki for a quickie."

"Fujisaki! Please!" Sakano responded. "I'm going to call him." Sakano took out his cell phone and began dialing.

"Actually" A phone began to ring. Sakano looked over at Hiro who was holding the ringing cell phone. "Shuichi's cell phone is right here."

Sakano's dread filled the room as he hung up his phone. "Oh, Shindo. How could you forget your phone?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Sakano. We have plenty of time before the concert." Hiro started. "I'm sure he'll be back soon."

"We'll give him one more hour." K said. "After that, I'm going after him."

Fujisaki sighed. "So much for practice."

* * *

Hikaru was well into his game. This was a lot harder than he thought it was going to be. He was struggling just to keep up with his opponent who was ahead of him. No matter where he moved on the board, he felt like he wasn't progressing. _Stay calm and focus. The game is no where near done. You have time to catch up. _Hikaru looked at his clock. _A little over three hours left.  


* * *

_

"I've waited long enough. He's definitely not here. I looked all over." K turned to Sakano and the rest of the Bad Luck band. "Too bad he left his cell phone. Otherwise I'd be able to find him in no time. I guess I'll have to do this the old fashion way."

"Sakano, I need you to stay here in case Shuichi comes back."

"Right."

"What about us? Do you want us to help you find Shuichi?" Hiro asked.

"No. Your concert is in a few hours. You guys should stay and prepare for that. Leave Shuichi to me."

* * *

K sighed as he rested his head on his arms that were leaning on the steering wheel. It had been two hours since he left to search for Shuichi and every where he went, Shuichi was nowhere to be found. He was running out of time. The concert is tonight. Shuichi had to be there to conclude a very successful tour of Japan. _This is what will get him even closer to Sakuma Ryuichi!_ K was pleasantly surprised that the tour up to this point went extremely well without anything like this happening to Shuichi. Where on earth could Shuichi be? K stopped and smiled. "This is exactly why I always plan ahead for situations like these." K took out his cell phone and began dialing.

* * *

'_Clack.' _Hikaru carefully placed his black stone on the board and pressed the button on his timer. _Looks like we're pretty much even now. He's a bit stronger than me. I have to get ahead. I must win!_

Hikaru's opponent was about to place his stone on the board. _'Ring, ring. Ring, ring.' _Hikaru jumped. His opponent was startled, but managed to keep the stone in between his fingers.

"That's yours isn't it?" He said to Hikaru.

"Huh?"

"The phone that's ringing." He said a little louder. He placed the stone on the board where he had intended to put it and pressed the timer button.

"Hikaru took his cell phone out of his pocket. The muffled ring became much clearer once Hikaru removed it from his pocket. _Crap! I forgot to turn it off!_

Those players who were near Hikaru were disturbed by the ringing cell phone. Ochi and Waya both heard it. Most of the people in the room looked at Hikaru. Some gave him dirty looks.

He flipped open his cell phone and was about to turn it off when he noticed the name on the caller ID. His eyes grew wide, but he immediately remembered he was in the middle of a game. _Sorry K. _Hikaru shut off his cell phone and put it back into his pocket. "I'm sorry about the interruption." He said to his opponent. _Whatever K wants will have to wait. _Hikaru turned back to the game. _Now where did he move last? Ah, he went there. Let's see…..  


* * *

_

Hikaru was still struggling. He stared at the board. He was taking longer and longer with each move he made. They were heading into the endgame. It was still too close. Hikaru wasn't ready to give up now. He reached into his bowl and took a stone. He hesitated for a moment. He frowned. Finally after a minute of contemplating he placed his stone on the board. He hit the timer button and waited anxiously for his opponent to make his move. His opponent moved almost immediately.

_That was certainly fast._

"Who knew this game could be so intense and stressful?"

_What?_ Hikaru looked out of the corner of his eye to see K peering over his shoulder at the board. "K! What are you doing here?" Hikaru said a little too loudly, now disturbing every person in the room.

"I came here to get you."

"Get me?"

People in the room began whispering about the interruption. His opponent looked puzzled at the man with the long blond hair that was sitting next to Hikaru. The moderator came in to see what all the commotion was and located the source of the interruption.

"Excuse me sir." The man began. "But you can't be in here. There is a match going on and you're disturbing…"

K took out his gun and pointed it up at the moderator. Gasps and more whispering could be heard throughout the room. Ochi couldn't believe this was happening again.

"I need to speak to Hikaru. Please leave us alone." K was in a seemingly bad mood.

The moderator wasn't sure how to react in this situation.

"K, let's leave the room and talk." Hikaru offered. He got up and said to his opponent, "I'll be right back to continue our game." K and Hikaru left the room. The other players watched as they left. They kept their eyes on the entrance to the room, each one curious as to what was going on.

The moderator cleared his throat. "Please continue your games. I apologize for the interruption." Slowly, everyone went back to playing their matches. Waya was the last to continue his game.

The clock on Hikaru's timer was slowly losing time. His opponent sat and waited patiently for Hikaru to return.

K and Hikaru walked into one of the empty rooms. "I'm in the middle of a game you know." Hikaru said quite annoyed.

"Right now, I don't care." K crossed his arms. "I need you to come with me, now."

"What? I can't do that! I'm still playing."

"How much longer do you need?"

"I'm not sure. I have about one hour left of game time."

"That's too long. I'll take you by force if I have to."

"What's this about anyway?"

"Shuichi's gone missing."

"Missing?"

"I've checked everywhere he could possibly be. You haven't seen him have you?" K glared at Hikaru.

"No! I didn't even know Shuichi was back in town!"

K began to think.

"You don't think something bad happened to him do you?" Hikaru asked quite concerned.

"I checked all the hospitals. He's not there."

"Well that's good isn't it?"

"Yes but I need to find him quickly. His last concert of Bad Luck's tour is tonight."

"Yeah, Waya told me this was his final concert."

"Waya, huh? Oh yes, the Go player who is really fond of Shuichi. Maybe I should question him." K turned around to leave.

"Wait!" Hikaru panicked and leaped towards K, grabbing him from behind and holding onto him. "Waya would never kidnap Shuichi!"

"Are you sure about that? Sometimes people aren't always who they seem."

"Well I can tell you that Waya is looking forward to seeing Shuichi tonight. Why would he kidnap him? And besides he's been here for the past four hours!"

"Hmm. What about that other kid I remember, what's his name?"

"You don't mean Ochi?" Hikaru continued to hang on to K. "As much as the kid has a bad attitude, he would never waste his time on something like kidnapping."

"I didn't think anyone from here would kidnap Shuichi anyway. Go players don't seem the type, but then again…." K trailed off.

"You can let go now."

Hikaru slowly let go his grip on K. K turned around to face Hikaru again. "I still need you to come with me."

"I'm not going to. Not now at least. I need to finish my game."

"I'll warn you right now Hikaru. I am running out of patience." Hikaru saw the anger in K's face building. "I'm mostly angry with myself for losing track of the lead singer in my band." K looked into Hikaru's eyes which made Hikaru extremely nervous. "I am going to give you ten minutes to finish your game."

"Ten minutes? I can't do it in ten minutes!"

"You will or" K took out his gun. "You'll be answering to me."

Hikaru didn't need any more pressure on him. This match was already hard enough. Now K is giving him ten minutes to finish his match?

"It's better than asking you to forfeit right now."

"I still see it as the same. This is going to be impossible. Do you know how important it is for me to win this game?"

"People who are under enough pressure always find a way to make what they want to happen a reality."

Hikaru stood in silence for a moment then he left the room and made his way back to the match room. As he walked in, some of the players glanced at him as he walked by. He made it back to his board. He knelt down. Hikaru looked at his clock. He'd lost seven minutes talking to K. But that didn't matter did it? He had ten minutes from this mark to either force his opponent to resign or for him to resign. Hikaru examined the board, trying to come up with a strategy that would allow him to win in ten minutes. Actually, less than that now. He was wasting time. Could he do it? He squeezed the fan in his left hand. He removed a stone from his bowl and placed it on the board and hit the button on his timer. _Only eight minutes left…..  


* * *

_

Hiro, Fujisaki and Sakano waited in the green room for K to return. Hiro was lying on the couch reading a magazine. Fujisaki was at the table writing something. Sakano was at the other end of the table. He was resting his head on the table in tears. It was taking everything he had to keep himself still. He had to keep reminding himself that K will find him. K will bring Shuichi back.

Every now and then Sakano would mumble something.

"I'm back everyone." K walked into the room. Everyone stopped what they were doing. Sakano raised his head off the table.

"K, please tell me that…."

"Shuichi!" Hiro jumped off the couch and ran over to him, who was standing behind K.

"Shindo!" Sakano leaped out of his chair.

Fujisaki remained in his seat.

"We were worried about you!"

"Where were you Shuichi? Why didn't you tell anyone that you were leaving?" Hiro asked getting quite upset with his best friend.

"You almost gave me a heart attack, Shindo! If you hadn't come back, I don't know what we'd do!"

Instead of responding to Hiro or Sakano, Shindo looked to K.

"He didn't lose his voice again did he?" Fujisaki asked.

"What!?" Sakano began to panic again. "What'll we do!? What'll we do!? The concert starts in a few hours! It's too late to cancel!"

K took out his gun and began shooting at Sakano. Shindo covered his head. "That's enough Sakano. There will be no need to cancel the concert."

"I can't believe you haven't actually killed anyone yet. How do get away with carrying a gun?"

"Shuichi?" A very puzzled Hiro asked. "What happened to your voice?"

"Nothing happened to his voice." K answered. "He is Shindo after all. Just not the Shindo you think he is."

"What do you mean?" Hiro, Fujisaki, and Sakano asked in unison.

Hiro took a closer look. "His eyes are different too."

"No way!" Hiro couldn't believe what K had done.

"What!? What!?" Sakano pleaded for someone to tell him what was going on.

Fujisaki sighed. "That's not the right Shindo. You brought us Shindo Hikaru not Shindo Shuichi."

"Shindo Hikaru? Shuichi's cousin? But…"

"Why did you waste your time making Hikaru look just like our Shindo, K?"

"You really did a good job." Hiro was playing with the pink hair of the wig that Hikaru wore. "Even I was fooled."

"What are you doing?" Hikaru backed away from Hiro.

"But why?" Hiro turned to K. "Couldn't you find Shuichi?"

"This time around Shuichi has become harder to locate. I bought Hikaru here dressed as Shuichi to prevent anyone from finding out that Shuichi is missing."

"Why?"

"You're one concert away from immense success or dreadful failure. If you fail, you'll be spending years getting back to where you are now. I want to save you from all that trouble. It is my job to see you through to the end by any means necessary."

"And this is how you're going to do it?" Fujisaki asked.

"He's perfect, don't you think?"

"He looks just like Shuichi" Fujisaki agreed "but how far do you plan on taking this?"

"As far as I have to. So, Mr. Sakano. I need to continue my search for Shuichi. I'll leave Hikaru, I mean Shuichi in your care."

"W-what about…"

"That's what I brought him here for." K answered Sakano's question before he could finish."

"B-but…."

"I'm sure everything will be fine. Don't let him wander around on his own. Keep him in here if you have to."

"Why do I have to do this?" Hikaru began to whine.

"It's only until I find your cousin."

"If you find him, that is." Fujisaki said, not surprised about the situation.

"I'll be back."

"Good luck." Hiro said to K.

Everyone's eyes were on Hikaru. They all couldn't believe that he really did look like Shuichi. He wore the pink wig cut to Shuichi's hairstyle. He even wore Shuichi's clothes. He wore brown shorts and a green shirt with dark blue long sleeves. Over the shirt he wore a light blue short sleeve dress shirt that was unbuttoned.

"Did you want anything to eat or drink?" Sakano broke the silence.

"No. I'm not really hungry."

* * *

Waya and Ochi finished their matches at relatively the same time. There were still a few people left that were playing. They made their way out of the room and over to the shoe lockers.

"I wonder what happened to Shindo." Waya said.

"I can't believe that man showed up again." Ochi replied.

"Yeah, he seemed pretty agitated and desperate to talk to Shindo. I hope everything is ok." Waya began to put on his shoes.

"Why would you think something was wrong?" Ochi proceeded to put his shoes on as well.

"When Shindo came back to continue his game, he was only there for about ten minutes and then he left again. I though I'd see him come back, but I guess this time he left for good."

They finished putting on their shoes and made their way to the elevator.

"This was a really important match for him. He wouldn't have left unless it was an emergency." Waya pushed the button for the elevator. "He really couldn't afford this loss."

"Things happen that are beyond anyone's control."

The elevator doors opened. Waya and Ochi stepped in.

"Are you still going to the concert tonight?" Ochi pressed the button for the lobby.

"Of course I'm still going. I wouldn't miss it for anything." The elevator doors closed.

* * *

"Let me go!" Hikaru yelled. He was struggling with all his might to release himself from Hiro. Hiro had his arms around Hikaru. He was trying to keep Hikaru from running out the door.

"Please, Hikaru you're the only one who could help us out!" Sakano begged.

"There's no way in hell I'm going to do this!" Hikaru continued to struggle.

"Hikaru, you won't be alone! Fujisaki and I will be with you the whole time!" Hiro tried to convince Hikaru.

"I don't care!" Hikaru grabbed onto Hiro's arms that were wrapped around his waist. He began struggling again and tried to pry Hiro's arms from around him.

"Fujisaki, you say something!"

"What do you want me to say? I'm not surprised by his reaction. I don't even believe he could pull this off."

Hikaru stopped struggling and turned as much as he could to face Fujisaki. "What!?"

"Sure, you do look like Shuichi, but you're going to need more than that if you're going to convince the press that you actually are Shuichi."

"This wasn't my idea."

"Someone must have faith in you that you can pull this off, otherwise you wouldn't be here. But I'm sure the moment you open your mouth, everyone will know you're not Shuichi."

"What is your problem with me anyway, Suguru?" It suddenly dawned on Hikaru. "You don't like the fact that I'm friends with your sister."

Fujisaki finally looked at Hikaru. He walked over to him who was still being held by Hiro. "You're finally beginning to realize, huh?"

"That figures. If you're so overprotective of her, why didn't you stop me from being friends with her before?"

"I had no problem before. Before you met Akira that is."

"Huh? Akira? That makes no sense. What does Toya have to do with this?"

"Oh wow, are you guys playing tag?" Everyone's attention was diverted to the entranceway. There they saw Ryuichi and Tohma. Ryuichi ran into the room."'Can I play too? Looks like you've been caught Shuichi." Ryuichi laughed excitedly.

"Mr. President! What are you doing here?"

"Ryuichi wanted to come see Shindo and…."

"It's that guy from Akira's." Hikaru said in a low voice so that only Hiro could hear. "Who is he?"

Hiro bent down a little to whisper in Hikaru's ear. "He's our boss."

"Boss?"

"Yes. He's the president of N-G Productions, the company Bad Luck signed our contract with."

"No fair!" Hiro and Hikaru looked at Ryuichi. "You're telling secrets!" Ryuichi's eyes began to water. "I thought we were friends, Shuichi!"

Hikaru looked at Ryuichi with a blank look until Hiro kicked him in the back of the leg. Hikaru looked up at Hiro. Hiro motioned to Ryuichi "Well?" He whispered.

"Oh, um, we are friends, um…" Hikaru looked back up at Hiro.

"Ryuichi" Hiro whispered.

"Ryuichi."

"Really!?" Ryuichi was so happy. "Then let's go play, Shuichi!"

Hikaru tried to move, but Hiro still had his arms around him. Hikaru looked up at Hiro. "Can you let me go now?"

"Oh, sorry." Hiro finally released his hold on Hikaru, immediately after Ryuichi grabbed Hikaru's arm.

"Come on, let's go Shuichi."

"Ah, where are you going?" Sakano saw Ryuichi pulling Hikaru towards the door.

"We're going to play!"

"Ryuichi, Shuichi cannot play now." Tohma said.

"Why?" Ryuichi whined.

"He is due for a press interview very soon and he needs to stay here."

"Ooooohhhh, no fair! No fair!"

"Ryuichi" Sakano started.

"No!" Ryuichi continued to pout. "You got to play with him." Ryuichi grabbed onto Hikaru's arm, hugging it tightly. "Now it's my turn!"

"Ryuichi, Shindo is working right now. You can play after he's done."

Ryuichi's eyes filled with tears and he began to cry while still holding onto Hikaru. Hikaru didn't know what to do in this situation. This person who was hanging onto him was acting like a child even though he was an adult. He never had to deal with someone like this before. _ I better do something._

"W-why don't we do something here?"

Ryuichi continued to cry. Hikaru desperately looked around the room for ideas. He saw the paper on the table.

"Do you want to draw?"

Ryuichi immediately stopped crying. "Draw? Yeah, let's draw! Come on, Shuichi!" Ryuichi began to laugh and dragged Hikaru over to the table.

"I'm glad Shindo got Ryuichi to calm down."

"Me too."

"By the way, Mr. Sakano, where is K? Shouldn't he be here? Your press conference will be starting soon."

Uh…yeah…well…K needed to step out for a moment. I'm sure he'll be right back."

* * *

"Wow, Shuichi! You sure do draw strange things."

Hikaru looked up from his paper to see Ryuichi looking at his drawing. Hikaru began drawing a Go board and then he began replaying the game he played that afternoon. He desperately wanted to study the game.

"You need to draw something more fun. Like this!"

Ryuichi showed Hikaru the picture he was drawing. It took Hikaru a minute to figure out who the people in the drawing were. He finally realized that the person in the middle was Shuichi singing on stage. The two people behind him were most likely Hiro and Fujisaki. Hikaru was beginning to see just how important singing was to Shuichi. _He must really love it. Just as much as I love to play Go._

"What is that supposed to be anyway, Shuichi?"

"Huh? Oh, a Go board."

"A Go board? What in the world made you think to draw that?"

"Have you ever played Go?"

"Nope. I don't know anything about Go. You must be really good at playing to draw that."

"Not really" Hikaru smiled and said in a smug tone "but my cousin, Hikaru is a Professional Go player. He plays very well."

"Your cousin?"

"Yeah, you met him a while ago."

"Cousin, cousin…" Ryuichi began to think. "Oh, yeah, now I remember! That's when I met Akira!"

"Akira?"

"He's fun! Do you think I can play with him again?"

_You think Akira is fun? _"I don't know. He is very busy." _I barely get to see him._

"I hope I can see him soon!"

"Shindo."

Hikaru looked up at Sakano who was standing next to him.

"It's time."

"Time? For what?"

"The press conference." Fujisaki said annoyed.

Hikaru's mood changed in that instant. He slowly got up from his seat.

"Good luck Shuichi! I'll see you after the concert!"

"Thanks."

Hikaru forced a smile. He walked ahead of Sakano and followed Hiro and Fujisaki out of the room.

* * *

As they got closer and closer to the press room, Hikaru became more and more nervous. He tried to calm himself down. He had nothing to fall back on. Nothing that he would find remotely similar that he has gone through that would help him in the least in this situation. Yes, he was briefly interviewed at times for Go Weekly but this was different.

They reached the room. Hikaru peaked in and saw several different reporters. Some of them noticed him and began taking pictures. Hiro pulled him out of the room and off to the side.

"What are you doing?"

"You expect me to talk in front of all those people?"

"It's not so bad."

"Not so bad!? When you said to speak to the press, I expected maybe one or two people, not dozens of them!"

"Don't worry, Shindo" Sakano said trying to reassure Hikaru. "We told you what questions to expect and how to answer them."

"If anyone asks anything unexpected, Fujisaki and I will help you out."

"We can't let them wait any longer." Sakano motioned for Hikaru and the rest to enter the room. Hiro pushed Hikaru forward.

"I'll be right behind you."

Hikaru stood at the entrance of the room, hesitated, and then took a step into the room. As he entered, several camera flashes went off capturing every moment of Bad Luck's walk to their seats up front. They only made it halfway when Hikaru suddenly stopped. Hiro almost ran into him.

"What's wrong? You're almost there." Hiro whispered.

Hikaru's mind went completely blank. He felt himself starting to panic. He couldn't bring himself to look at the reporters whose eyes were now fixated on him.

Hikaru turned around and quickly ran past Hiro and Fujisaki causing a fury of picture taking by the reporters. He ran out of the room past Sakano who somehow managed to grab his arm.

"Let go!" Hikaru struggled with all his might.

"Please stay!"

Hikaru managed to get free and ran down the hall and out of sight. Sakano stood there alone with no idea how to proceed from here.

Hiro and Fujisaki had politely excused themselves from the room momentarily playing off Shuichi's sudden departure as a joke.

Sakano quickly told them what had happened to Hikaru. "I tried to stop him but…"

"I knew it." Fujisaki gloated.

"What'll we do now?" Hiro asked. "We can't delay the press any longer."

"I guess we'll be doing the press conference without Shindo."

"Why not!?"

Everyone turned and when they saw Shindo their eyes lit up.

"I found him." K was standing next to Shuichi. There was someone else standing on the other side of Shuichi. He had short, bright red hair. He wore blue jeans, a long sleeved green dress shirt with the top button undone, with a yellow neck tie that he wore loosely.

"Thank goodness you caught Shindo. I thought after he ran away we were done for. Now we can proceed with the conference." Sakano said bursting with happiness.

"What are you talking about Mr. Sakano?" Shuichi asked. I didn't run away."

"Yes you did! You ran down the hall a minute ago after I tried to stop you!"

"K, is Mr. Sakano alright?" Shuichi asked confused.

"I believe he is mistaking you for your double."

"Double?"

"So he ran away did he?" K asked but didn't wait for a response to continue speaking. "I guess I'll have to train him better next time."

"You mean this is the real Shuichi?" Fujisaki asked.

"Yes. Indeed it is!"

"What is everyone talking about?" Shuichi was getting more and more confused as he listened to the conversation being held in front of him.

"Where the hell were you Shuichi?" Hiro raised his voice.

"Let's just say that from now on, he will need a chaperone to go to the toilet." K answered for Shuichi.

"What do you mean?"

"He got locked inside a Porto potty."

Everyone looked at Shuichi in disbelief. But then again this is Shuichi.

"You were trapped inside a Porto potty this entire time?" Hiro began to get angry. "Why didn't you use one of the toilets inside the building, you idiot!"

The other person standing next to Shuichi spoke. "That would probably be my fault."

"Why are you here Atsuro?"

"I called Shuichi because I wanted to see him to wish him well for the last concert of your tour. Since I had some time in between Lucifer's recording sessions, I decided to run down here to see him in person. We met discretely outside."

"You just came to see Shuichi, huh?" Hiro crossed his arms.

Atsuro smiled. "Sorry Hiro. I didn't mean to blow you off. I had limited time. But I told Shuichi to say 'hi' to you for me."

Fujisaki had no idea who this Atsuro person was or how he knew Shuichi and Hiro. _They must've met before I joined Bad Luck._

"How did you get stuck in a Porto potty?" Hiro pushed the question.

"After Atsuro left, I really had to pee." Shuichi saw the looks he was getting from everyone. "What!? The toilet was right there! I really had to go! How was I supposed to know the lock was going to jam on me?"

"It was a good thing I came back too." Atsuro said. "After I finished recording, I realized my wallet must have fallen out of my pocket. I came back here and found it where I had met with Shuichi. As I was about to leave I heard some banging and yelling and that's when I found Shuichi locked in the Porto potty. As much as I tried, I couldn't get the door open. That's when K showed up."

"Um, excuse me?" One of the reporters came out of the room. "But will you be starting soon?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Sakano apologized. "We will be in momentarily."

"I'll be going now. Have fun tonight." Atsuro began to walk away. "Call me when you guys aren't busy. Let's hang out sometime."

"Bye Atsuro!" Shuichi waved. "So, what's this about my double?"

"We'll talk about that later. Right now I need you to go in that room." K pointed with his gun.

* * *

Hikaru didn't stop running. He made it to the first floor and was desperately looking for an exit. _There's one! _Hikaru ran for the door. He charged through the door and outside. There he paused for a moment to catch his breath. "Oh man. I can't believe I almost did that." Hikaru whispered to himself. "Well, I'm not sticking around here for anyone to come and get me." Hikaru was about to walk away.

"Shindo? Shindo Shuichi?" Hikaru turned around. "Oh my God! It is really you!" A girl he did not know was standing before him. _Shuichi must know her. _

"Um, hi…"

The girl began to squeal quite loudly that Hikaru had to cover his ears. "Shuichi said 'hi' to me!"

Hikaru noticed that more people began to gather around the girl, but were eagerly looking at him. He finally realized that this isn't a girl that Shuichi knew. She's a fan of his and he guessed that the rest of these people were as well. Hikaru got a very bad feeling. He had this sudden urge to be as far away from these people as he could. He took a step back. The crowd, that was growing by the second, stepped forward towards him.

"Shuichi!" Hikaru saw someone waving their hand high above the crowd. He followed the waving hand down to its source. _Waya! What the hell are you doing here? And you're with Izumi?_

Waya noticed that Shuichi was looking at him. Waya couldn't stop smiling. "I'm looking forward to the concert, Shuichi."

The other people in the crowd began saying things to him:

"Can I have your autograph?"

"I love you Shuichi!"

"Um….thanks….I guess…" Hikaru was becoming more and more uncomfortable.

"Will you marry me?"

With that last question, Hikaru had enough. He turned and bolted away from the crowd. The fans didn't give him much of a lead. They immediately ran after him, each one wanting him for their own purposes, including Waya. Izumi stayed behind.

Hikaru had no idea how long he'd been running but it sure felt like a long time. "Why won't they give up? Telling them that I'm not Shuichi just made things worse." He turned a corner and leaned up against the building panting and sweating. "Is this what Shuichi goes through? How does he stand it?" Hikaru looked around the corner from whence he came and saw the group of fans running in his direction. Hikaru freaked and began running again.

Some people in the group gave up. Hikaru was hoping more people would give up soon. It didn't seem that way though. He was about at his limit. The worst part was that Waya was still running after him. _Geez, Waya! If you like Shuichi that much, I'll introduce you to him!_

Hikaru looked to see if anyone was directly behind him. Thankfully no one was. He seemed to have gotten farther ahead of the group. He turned back around and,

'BANG!' Hikaru fell to the ground. He had run into someone.

"Ow!"

"Are you alright?"

Hikaru lifted his head to see the other person he ran into already getting up off the ground.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Hikaru took the outstretched hand and was helped off the ground."

"Shindo Shuichi, isn't it?"

Hikaru noticed the person he ran into.

"Toya? Toya it's me!"

Akira had a blank stare.

"Hikaru!" Hikaru yelled.

"Hikaru?" Akira took a closer look at him. "You really are Hikaru. Why do you look like your cousin?"

"That's a long story. I need you to help hide me."

"Why do you need to hide?"

"Which way did he go?" Hikaru and Akira heard someone say in the distance. Hikaru turned around to see the fans at the corner where he had recently turned.

"Oh no! They found me!"

Akira didn't need to ask any more questions. He grabbed Hikaru's arm and began running in the opposite direction.

"There he is!" The fans began running after him.

"Akira! They're coming!"

Akira turned another corner and ran down the street still holding onto Hikaru's arm. "Akira! I don't think I can run anymore!" Hikaru was getting tired. Akira stopped and threw Hikaru into an alley.

"Stay there!" Akira turned around and stood in front of the alley. He saw the fans race around the corner and run towards Akira. Hikaru sank to the ground of exhaustion and of fear of being found by the fans.

"Where is he?"

"He can't be far!"

The crowd ran past Akira and down the street. Akira waited a few more seconds. "Ok, I think they're gone."

Akira walked into the alley. Hikaru picked himself up off the ground holding his right hand.

"Thank you Toya."

"I take it you're some kind of decoy for your cousin?"

"Something like that."

"You really do look like him. I guess you're pulling this off successfully."

"This wasn't supposed to happen." Hikaru began rubbing his right hand while he peaked outside the alley for any Shuichi fans. Akira noticed his hand.

"Is something wrong with your hand?" Akira took Hikaru's right hand.

"I just scrapped it when I ran into you, but it's no big deal."

Akira looked at the back of his hand, but that was ok. He looked at the palm and saw that it was scratched up. Akira moved his thumb lightly across Hikaru's palm.

"I'm sorry." Akira said tenderly.

"Why are you sorry? I'm the one who ran into you. It's my fault." Hikaru spoke softly.

Akira continued to caress Hikaru's palm with his thumb.

"Toya." Hikaru said barely audible. He felt his heart starting to pound in his chest. He looked at Akira who met his gaze.

"He must've double backed on us." Hikaru and Akira were startled out of their moment.

"They are very persistent, aren't they?" Akira observed. Akira slowly let Hikaru's hand slip from his.

"I'm beginning to see just how scary rock star fans are."

They watched as the fan congregated a little ways from where they were hiding discussing what they should do.

Akira looked down the alley. "You should go down this way."

"What about you?"

"I'll wait until they're gone. I'm meeting someone over here." Akira noticed the look on Hikaru's face. Akira smiled. "Don't worry, Shindo. I'm meeting someone for a tutoring game tonight. That's all."

Hikaru realized the look he must have shown, blushed and looked away.

Akira turned his attention back to the fans. "You should go now. They seem to be leaving."

Hikaru agreed and turned to proceed down the alley.

"Shindo, you had a game today."

"Yeah?"

"How did you do?"

Hikaru smiled. "Give me a call next time you're free. I'd very much like you to see the game I played today." He ran down the alley and out the other end. As he turned the corner, his shoulder came in contact with another person's shoulder. This just spun both of them around.

"I'm sorry!" Hikaru yelled as he continued to run.

"Not a problem." The man said and smiled as he put his camera inside his bag. "Not a problem at all."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Akira's Bad Day**

Hikaru made his way back to where the concert was being held. He needed to get his bag and change out of the outfit he was in and into his own clothes. He didn't dare go home like this. He didn't want anyone else to run after him and he certainly didn't want to explain to his parents why he was dressed up looking like Shuichi.

He made it past the guards with ease and tried to remember where K took him when they got here earlier that day. It took him about ten minutes of wandering around to find the room where his bag was. It was awfully quiet. Hikaru hadn't run into very many people as he was wandering around back stage. "I wonder if the concert is about to start." Hikaru muttered to himself as he found his bag.

'_Click' _

"I didn't think I would see you back here, but I guess you did have to get your bag, didn't you?" K held his gun to Hikaru's head while Hikaru remained frozen where he was.

"I'm very disappointed in you." K was pissed off. He pressed his gun against Hikaru's head. "Perhaps I should dispose of you now."

"Please!" Hikaru begged. "Don't kill me! I'll do whatever you say!"

"Really now. Why couldn't you have had that attitude before? Then you wouldn't be in this little predicament with me."

Hikaru began to shake.

"Is there something wrong?" K asked.

"Of course there's something wrong! You have a gun pointed at my head!"

"How observant of you."

"Could you please take it away from me? I don't want you accidentally shooting me."

"I am not so careless as to 'accidentally' shoot someone I don't intend on shooting in the first place. Right now, we need to clear up a misunderstanding that has somehow come between us."

Hikaru didn't say a word. He was afraid of provoking K any further and of what he might do to him.

"The next time I come for you, and believe me there will be a next time, I expect you to do everything I tell you to do. Running away like you did today almost ruined Bad Luck. Fortunately, I was able to locate Shuichi in time. However, if that were not the case, Shuichi's career would have ended tonight all because you got scared."

_Is this guy serious? He's blaming me for what could've happened?_

"Then again" K finally pulled his gun away from Hikaru's head. "I was somewhat at fault for not instructing you better at being Shuichi's double. In the future I will endeavor to teach you what you need to know."

"What makes you think there will be a next time?" Hikaru rubbed the spot on his head K held his gun against.

"You owe me for what you did today."

"That makes no sense." Hikaru couldn't take it anymore. "You're the one who dragged me away from my game today and dressed me up like this! I then had to get chased around town by Shuichi's fans!"

"That was your fault for leaving. But it also was good to know that you can pull off making people believe that you are Shuichi." K began to think to himself out loud. "I hadn't planned on throwing you into that particular situation just yet."

"I have a life too you know!" Hikaru crossed his arms. He was now the one getting pissed off.

"I know. But on top of playing Go, you get to work for me now."

"What?" Hikaru couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Don't get me wrong. I like Shuichi. He's my cousin, but Shuichi isn't everything."

"To me he is. The things I do for him is to make him the most successful person in his field."

"And my success is nothing?"

"If being a successful Go player is what makes you happy, then I will do what I can so that you will be in a better position to help me."

"Today didn't seem like you were helping me."

"Didn't I?"

"You rushed me."

"I gave you the motivation to win that game."

Hikaru was getting tired of arguing with K.

"I'm sure Akira will be very proud of you."

This unexpected comment made Hikaru blush. He really couldn't wait to show Akira this game. He couldn't believe it himself that he was able to wrap up the game in ten minutes.

"Do you want to see him?"

"What?"

"Your cousin. He started performing twenty minutes ago."

Hikaru followed K. As they got closer to the stage, they began to hear the music getting louder and louder. They reached the stage. Hikaru watched from off stage his cousin singing and dancing around. As they ended a song, the crowd cheered loudly. He remembered being at the TV station and the crowd there was nothing compared to the people here. _There must be thousands of people here. All to see Shuichi_.

_They really do love him don't they? _

Hikaru watched as Shuichi played with the crowd getting them more riled up.

"Next time you should watch from the audience." K said to Hikaru.

"Yeah, next time."

Hikaru watched for a while longer, but ended up going back to the green room before the concert ended. It was still strange for him to see his cousin like this. Shuichi was famous. Everyone who came to this concert came to see Shuichi perform. It was all surreal to Hikaru.

Hikaru sat on the couch. He closed his eyes for just a moment or at least that is what he intended to do. Hikaru ended up falling asleep.

* * *

"Congratulations." K said as Bad Luck walked off stage.

Shuichi, Hiro and Fujisaki offered their thanks. They were all still full of adrenaline, happy with how their concert went. They could still hear the crowd cheering for more even though they had already sung two encores.

"You have successfully completed your tour of Japan. I am very proud of you." K praised Shuichi, Hiro and Fujisaki for their hard work.

Everyone began walking back to the green room. "You guys certainly deserve the break you are getting." Sakano said.

"We definitely must celebrate tonight! What do you say guys?" Shuichi asked Hiro and Fujisaki.

"I thought we were going to play Shuichi." Ryuichi came up behind the band. Shuichi stopped and turned around.

"Ryuichi?"

"You promised."

"I did? When?"

"Before the concert. Don't tell me you forgot already?"

"I believe your answer is in here." K said from the doorway to the green room.

Everyone began walking and entered the room. Shuichi looked over at the couch. He jumped back and pointed at the person who looked just like him lying down. "What the hell is going on here?"

Ryuichi came in to see what Shuichi was freaking out about. "What? There's two Shuichi's?"

"Meet your double Shuichi." K walked over to Hikaru who was still sound asleep.

"Huh?"

"Don't you recognize him?"

"He looks just like me." Shuichi proceeded cautiously over to the couch to get a better look. He wore his clothes and even had the same exact hair style as himself. ""Who is it?"

"Your cousin. Hikaru." K answered.

"Hikaru? Really?" Shuichi knelt down in front of Hikaru. "People have always said we look alike, but this is a little scary." Shuichi examined him a little more and then began poking him with his finger as if he didn't believe that this person sleeping in front of him was real. "K, you did this?"

"I didn't want anyone knowing that you were missing so I needed someone to play your part for a while until you came back. He's the perfect double for you, don't you think?"

"Well, yes but I never thought he would come here of his own accord."

"I had to convince him a little to come here."

"K, what did you do to Hikaru?" Shuichi asked as he shot K a menacing look.

"Don't worry Shuichi I didn't harm him. How could I? I'm sure he'll come in handy in the future."

"I don't think he'll like that very much." Shuichi turned back to Hikaru.

"We already discussed it while you were on stage."

"And he agreed?" Shuichi said surprised.

"We came to an understanding."

Shuichi was amazed that Hikaru actually looked just like him dressed up like that. Yes, he is asleep but Hikaru could still pass for Shuichi. He had this sudden urge to wake Hikaru and take him to see his sister, Maiko. _I'm sure she would love to see this! She'd probably torture him and make fun of him. _Shuichi laughed to himself. _Maybe next time._

"We should take him home." K said. "He has had a long day."

"Don't wake him." Shuichi said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I'll catch up with you guys. I'm going to go with K to bring Hikaru home."

"But Shuichi, you promised to play with me!" Ryuichi whined.

"Don't worry Ryuichi I'll come play with you just as soon as I'm finished here."

"YEAAAHHHHH!!!"

* * *

"Oh my, is Hikaru ok?" Hikaru's mother panicked when she saw Hikaru passed out. K was holding Hikaru in his arms as she answered the door.

"Hikaru is fine, aunty. He's just sleeping." It was after midnight when K and Shuichi rang the doorbell to Hikaru's home.

"May we come in?" K asked.

"Oh yes, please come in." Hikaru's mother let K and Shuichi pass by her. "I didn't know Hikaru was going to stay out so late."

"I don't think he did either. We'll bring him upstairs and put him in bed." Shuichi told his aunt.

"Yes of course." Hikaru's mother shut the door. "Thank you Mr. K. I'm sorry for all the trouble he's caused you."

K stopped in the middle of the stair well. "Not at all. I'm happy to do this." K and Shuichi proceeded up the stairs to Hikaru's room.

Shuichi opened the door and turned on the light. Shuichi and K entered Hikaru's room. Shuichi put Hikaru's bag down on the floor. Then he pulled down the blankets to Hikaru's bed and carefully removed his shoes. K then put Hikaru down gently on his bed and covered him with his blankets. Hikaru still wore Shuichi's clothes but the wig was removed. The two of them stood there looking at Hikaru as if they were waiting for something to happen.

"Today must have been very exhausting for him to be asleep like this." Shuichi said quietly.

"He did have a very busy day."

Shuichi waited another moment, then him and K walked to the bedroom door and shut off the lights. When they left the room they closed the door behind them.

* * *

"I'm leaving." Akira said as he shut the door to his house. He made his way down the short path to the entrance to his yard. He opened the wooden door, walked through and as he closed the door behind him, he heard someone say, "There he is!"

Akira looked around to see where that was coming from. He didn't expect to find several people running towards him with cameras, microphones and tape recorders being shoved in his face and people getting ready to take notes. They began speaking to him at the same time. There were so many of them talking at once he couldn't distinguish what they were saying to him, but one reporter spoke louder than the rest.

"Toya Akira, is it true about you and Shindo?" The crowd went silent, waiting for a response from Akira. Akira had a blank look on his face. After only a few seconds, another question was thrown at him.

"How long have you been seeing each other?"

"I'm sorry, but what is this all about?" Akira finally spoke.

"So you're denying you're involvement with Shindo?"

"How can I deny something when I don't even know what you're talking about?"

One of the reporters took out a photo from his coat pocket. "This was taken two days ago." Akira took the picture from the reporter and looked at it.

_What!? What is this? _Akira was horrified by what he saw. The crowd of reporters started asking questions again, hoping he would answer.

"Does this mean Yuki and Shindo have broken up?"

"How did the two of you meet?"

"A Go player and a Pop star. That's an interesting pair!"

_They're all here because of this picture? What do they think is going on? _Akira began to sweat. He lifted his head from staring at the picture and looked at all the reporters standing around him. The man who gave Akira the picture snatched it back from him and placed it in his pocket. _I have no idea what's happening!_

Akira saw one of the reporters changing the film in his camera. Akira saw this as an opportunity to get out of there. He pushed the man aside and ran down the street. He kept running, not taking a moment to look back, hoping no one would be following after him.

Akira turned a corner and stopped, trying to catch his breath. He leaned up against the wooden fence that was nearby. He turned back around and looked down the street he came running from. No one was there. _Thank God they didn't follow. I'm not sure what that was all about, but I don't have time for that. I need to get to school._

He opened the door to his classroom and entered. The class fell silent the moment they saw Akira. He shut the door behind him. They began to whisper to each other, stealing glances at him as he walked by.

_I wonder what's going on. _Akira thought as he made his way to his seat. As he walked he felt his classmates' eyes following him. Wh_y are they looking at me? _He tried ignoring them. Akira made it to his seat. He sat down and put his bag on his desk. He began pulling out books. The light in the room got darker. Akira wondered. He felt someone was near. He looked up to find three girls standing around is desk, glaring at him.

"Toya Akira, you have some explaining to do." One of the girls said.

"W-what's wrong?" Akira asked, confused and nervous. What did he do wrong? He's never done anything to offend anyone. At least he couldn't think of any instances at that moment.

A newspaper was dropped right in front of him. Akira looked at it. His eyes grew wide. _No way! _It was the same picture that was handed to him this morning by one of the reporters, but now it was on the cover of a tabloid newspaper. _This is not happening! This is not real!_

"Care to explain this one, Toya?" Another girl said, anger seething from her voice.

Akira didn't respond to her question. He just looked at the newspaper that was sitting in front of him. He read the headline of the tabloid that was typed in big red, bold faced letters:

**Is there a new love for Bad Luck's lead singer Shindo Shuichi?**

Akira opened the newspaper to read the article inside:

'Two days ago, the lead singer of Bad Luck, Shindo Shuichi was seen with Professional Go Player Toya Akira, age 14, hours before Bad Luck's final concert of their tour (see photo, front cover).

Trying to remain discrete, Shindo met with Toya in an alley downtown. The photograph clearly shows that there is something going on between Shindo and Toya.

Does this mean that novelist Eri Yuki is out of the picture?

There has been no indication that Yuki and Shindo were having any problems. They seemed like the fairytale couple. What could have led Shindo to cheat, and with all people, a young Go player? This begs the question, how did they meet? And, how long have they been seeing each other?

Sources say that Yuki has gotten too old for Shindo so he has turned his sights to someone a lot younger that appeal to his particular tastes….'

The newspaper was suddenly ripped out of Akira's hands. His mind was blank. He couldn't process what he just read.

"Well, Toya? I can't believe someone like you would have the nerve to break up one of Japan's most famous couples!"

"B-but I didn't! It's not true!" Akira pleaded with his classmate.

"Always the quiet ones. You make everyone think you're so innocent. I knew you were hiding something. Did you even think about Yuki's feelings?" The girl put her hands on Akira's desk and leaned forward with a stern expression. She stared into Akira's eyes. He stared right back.

"Tell me Toya, are you having fun with your new boyfriend?"

Shocked by the question, Akira tried to defend himself. "I give you my word there is nothing going on between me and Shindo." _At least not that Shindo._ "Besides, that isn't even him in the picture."

"Hah!" The girl stood up and crossed her arms. "Really Toya, if you're going to lie, try to at least make the lie believable. I expected better out of you."

"Please believe me….."

The door to the classroom opened. It was the teacher. Everyone stopped what they were doing and went to their seats. The teacher walked in, closed the door and proceeded to the podium at the front of the classroom. The class representative spoke, "Stand. Bow. Sit."

The teacher took attendance and then started the lesson. Akira couldn't concentrate on class. He kept rereading the tabloid article in his mind over and over trying to comprehend what was going on.

Akira couldn't walk anywhere within school without people looking at him and talking about him. He usually didn't care what people thought of him, but this was different. People had the wrong idea about him. He wasn't involved with Shindo Shuichi. He's not even friends with him. He only knows him through his cousin, Hikaru. _Hikaru. I wonder what's happening with him. Did he read the article? What's going through his mind?_

The school bell rang to indicate the end of the day. Akira gathered his things and proceeded to his shoe locker as soon as he could. He didn't want to be confronted by anyone else at school regarding the recent events surrounding the tabloid article. As he was about to grab his shoes he heard the announcement chime.

_'Attention, please. Toya Akira please report to the main office. I repeat, Toya Akira please report to the main office.'_

_What now? _Akira took his hands away from his shoes and turned around to head for the main office. He hesitated. All he wanted to do at that moment was leave school and go home. _It is the end of the day. I could just walk out right now and they would just think that I left before hearing the announcement. _

Something inside of him made him start walking.

As he approached the office he could only imagine what he was being called there for. Did the principle see the article? Is that what this is all about? He dreaded having to explain that tabloid article to the principle, especially this close to graduation. Is this how he will be remembered at this school? Not for his Go but for a scandal?

He reached the office door. Trying hard to prepare himself for the worst, he opened the door and went inside.

"Good. I'm glad you didn't leave yet."

"Ogata, what are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd give you a ride home today."

"That's very kind of you but I can get home on my own."

"I wouldn't advise that."

Akira read Ogata's eyes and immediately knew that Ogata was well aware of Akira's situation.

"I just need to get my shoes."

Ogata and Akira headed towards the back of the school_. I wonder why we're going out this way._ _Are there more reporters waiting for me outside the school? _They made it to Ogata's car safely and drove away without incident.

"You certainly got yourself into a mess." Ogata stated insensitively

"This is all just a big misunderstanding." Akira began defending himself.

"That newspaper article has caused quite a commotion."

"Don't tell me you believe it?" Akira kept his eyes on his hands that were on his lap.

Ogata looked out the corner of his eye at Akira before answering.

"No. Tabloid newspapers are full of garbage."

Ogata let a moment pass before continuing.

"But that picture…"

Ogata peered at Akira out of the corner of his eye once more. Akira had turned away and was now looking out the passenger window.

_This is strange_. Akira was taken away from his thoughts as he paid more attention to the scenery as they drove. _I thought Ogata was taking me home. Going this way, we'll end up….._

"Ogata, where are you taking me?"

Ogata pulled over to the side of the road and shut off the engine.

"Why did we stop outside my father's Go salon?"

"Because your father wants to speak to you."

Ogata opened the car door and got out. Akira sat frozen in the car.

"Father is here?"

Akira followed Ogata inside. _This is not what I want to do right now. I haven't even had a chance to let everything that's been happening sink in yet. How am I supposed to explain this to my father? I don't even know if I can face him._

Ogata and Akira walked past the entrance to the Go salon. Further down the hall they stopped in front of a door. Ogata knocked on the door and walked in. Akira stayed behind Ogata. It was a small room. Toya Meijin was the only person in the room. He was looking out the window.

"I brought Akira, Sensei."

"Thank you Ogata." Toya Mejin slowly turned around. "You may leave now."

Ogata was about to protest. He wanted more than anything to stay and hear Akira's explanations about the tabloid article. But once he looked into the eyes of Toya Meijin, he knew better than to argue. Ogata bowed slightly and left the room. The door shut behind him leaving Akira standing before his father. Silence lingered, but Toya Meijin spoke before the silence became uncomfortable.

"I see that you have become the topic of discussion in the news lately." Toya looked at his son. Akira remained silent. "I'm curious how this happened, Akira. For you to get involved in such a scandal as this, I find it very hard to digest."

Toya kept his tone even. He remained composed. He waited for his son to speak which he noticed Akira was not looking at him. Akira could not bring himself to look at his father. He was having a hard enough time standing in front of him like this.

"Your mother is quite concerned about you."

"M-mother knows about this!?" Akira finally looked at his father.

Even his mother? _I guess she was bound to find out sooner or later_. _I just wish it was later rather than sooner._

"I wanted to talk to you first before going home. Tell me, Akira what's going on?"

Akira took a deep breath in and let it out.

"I'm not sure how or why this happened. I just happened to run into Mr. Shindo and this is the result of that meeting."

"Shindo?"

"Shindo Shuichi. He's Hikaru's cousin."

"Hikaru's cousin? You've met him before?"

"Yes. The day I went to the TV station for an interview a few months back. Hikaru was there to see his cousin Shuichi perform on a TV show."

"I see."

"I swear to you father, everything they say is false! I am in no way involved with Shindo Shuichi!"

"Of course you're not."

"What?"

"I would have been the first to notice anything out of the ordinary with you."

Akira was confused.

"I know that you're passion in life is Go. Your game would have suffered if what the media says is true. Why you had to get wrapped up in this is quite unfortunate.

Akira was pleased that his father was so understanding.

"What the media will do to get a story." Toya looked at his son and approached him. "Don't worry. Those that know you will believe in you and support you through this. I will pray that this will go away quickly for you."

"Father."

"Don't let this affect you or your game."

"I won't. Thank you father."

* * *

_I'm glad father was so understanding. Part of me feels that it was too easy, but he did say that those who know me will support me. _

Akira left the Go salon a few minutes earlier. He wanted some time to himself. He was on his way to the train station.

_Two days. I can't believe it's only been two days and the story has already spread this far. _

_Hikaru._

_How could I tell father that it was you and not Shuichi that I was with? It would've just made things more complicated to explain. Knowing that father is supporting me has made things somewhat easier to deal with._

Akira smiled to himself.

"What are you smiling for?"

Akira looked up. The smile quickly faded from his expression. This was the last person he wanted to see. Or maybe this was the perfect time to explain things. The expression on Yuki's face as he smoked his cigarette told Akira that if he said the wrong thing, he would be facing serious consequences.

"Don't tell me you believed that article?"

Yuki took his time inhaling the smoke from his cigarette. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and slowly exhaled the smoke from his lungs.

"And what if I did?"

"You should already be aware of my intentions."

"I've learned that there is always some truth in everything." Yuki's cold, harsh eyes remained locked with Akira's.

"You should know better than anyone that it's Hikaru I love. Not Shuichi." Akira locked his eyes with Yuki's. Yuki looked like he was on the edge. He was suppressing his anger. One wrong move on Akira's part and he felt he would become victim to Yuki's wrath.

Yuki finished the cigarette he had been smoking, dropped it on the ground and stepped on it.

"That picture." Yuki grabbed another cigarette and lit it. "The way you were looking at Shuichi is the same way you look at Hikaru."

Yuki walked toward Akira as if to pass him. He stopped when he came alongside Akira.

"I just want to make sure you aren't getting confused with what Shindo you are after."

Yuki exhaled the smoke from his cigarette which filled the area around Akira. Akira did not flinch but remained still.

"If Hikaru is truly your objective I won't stand in your way. Shuichi, on the other hand is off limits."

Akira was getting angry. He was being accused of something he didn't even do or even consider doing.

"That was Hikaru in the picture. Not Shuichi." Akira turned to face Yuki.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Hikaru was made to look like Shuichi to distract his fans. I happened to run into him that day and I helped him out."

Yuki turned his head to look at Akira's face. He studied Akira's expression in silence for a while.

"He said the same thing." Yuki walked past Akira and stopped again. "How will you convince everyone that you're not involved with Shuichi, I wonder?"

"I take that to mean that you believe me?"

Yuki grunted and continued on his way.

* * *

That evening, Akira sat with his parents for dinner. Neither one of his parents brought up the scandalous newspaper article. They spoke about other things, but mainly about Go. Akira was happy with how things were going right now. This is what he needed all day. He wondered what his mother thought about all of this but he put it out of his head. He didn't want to spoil such a nice dinner. He was glad his parents were so understanding of him.

_'Ding. Dong.'_

The doorbell startled everyone. Akira's father was about to get up.

"I'll get it father."

"Akira are you sure?"

"Yes. Don't worry."

Akira went to the door and slid it open.

"What the hell, Toya!?"

A newspaper was shoved in Akira's face.

"Hikaru? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? This is what's wrong!" Hikaru shook the newspaper in Akira's face.

_Hikaru read the article as well I see._

"So?"

Hikaru stopped what he was doing and stared shocked at Akira. "So? "So? Is that all you have to say? I think I deserve more of an explanation than so!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I should've realized earlier that you were just using me to get to Shuichi!"

"What?" Akira couldn't contain his anger anymore. He couldn't believe what he was hearing from Hikaru. "What in the world is wrong with you Hikaru!?"

Akira grabbed the newspaper away from Hikaru. He folded it back to the front page and held it in front of Hikaru.

"Did you even look at the picture on the cover?" Akira said angrily.

"It's you and Shuichi!"

"No, you idiot, that's you!" Akira pointed at the picture.

Hikaru examined the picture more closely.

"Ah! Wait! I remember. That's when we were in the alley together." Hikaru's mood changed instantly. "Man, I really do look like Shuichi in this picture don't I? I didn't even realize it was me. Oh, so now everyone thinks that you and Shuichi are going out just like what I thought."

Akira's hands were now tightly gripping the sides of the newspaper.

"Boy, Toya I guess you're in a real mess now…"

"Get out." Akira said shaking with anger.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"I said get out!" Akira finally shouted.

"Toya?" Hikaru took a couple of steps back from Akira. Akira threw the newspaper back at him and slammed the door closed.

Akira leaned his head up against the door, breathing heavily from that sudden outburst of anger.

_Hikaru, you idiot!_

After a few minutes, he finally got himself to calm down.

"Will this day never end?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Solution**

"It's been four days since the story broke on the supposed relationship between Shindo Shuichi of Bad Luck and Professional Go player Toya Akira. There has been no official word yet as to whether the two are lovers but meeting up in an alley just hours before Shindo's concert leaves little to the imagination. What is going on between these two? And what about Eiri Yuki? Our top story from Crossroad Kinue."

"Secret rendezvous! Just hours before going on stage for the final concert of Bad Luck's tour, Shindo Shuichi met secretly with Professional Go player Toya Akira. Why were these two secretly meeting? It's no surprise that many are speculating that the two are more than just friends. And who can blame them? Shindo and Toya were caught alone in an alley holding each other's hands.

"This came as quite a shock to Shindo's fans who have given their overwhelming support to him and his relationship with Eiri Yuki. And what about the romance novelist? There have been no reports yet that Mr. Yuki has left the apartment that he and Shindo currently share.

"So is it too soon to call Toya Akira Shindo Shuichi's new lover? A pop singer and a Professional Go player certainly make for an interesting pair……

'BANG!' The remote flew across the room hitting the TV which caused it to shut off.

"Please be careful! I just bought that for you, Waya."

"Aaaauuugghhh! I can't take it anymore! Why him!? Why is it always him!?"

"What are you talking about?" Isumi entered the room and put the plastic bag he was carrying on the floor.

"Toya!"

"Toya? What about him?" Isumi sat on the floor next to Waya

"How does he know Shindo!?"

"Shindo?"

"I am the biggest Bad Luck fan! Why can't I meet Shuichi like that?"

"I thought you already met him."

"That wasn't a real meeting! I just got to say hello to him for about a minute, but Toya gets to be alone with him!"

"If I didn't know any better Waya, I'd think you were jealous." Isumi gave Waya a curious look.

"Jealous?" Waya shot back at Isumi with a nasty look. "Jealous of Toya? No way!"

"But you just said that you want to be alone with Shindo. Shuichi that is."

"That's not at all what I mean! Toya just….Toya always seems to be in my way!"

"If meeting Shuichi is that important to you, why don't you ask Hikaru? They're related aren't they?" Isumi said rather harshly and began busying himself with unloading the contents of the plastic bag

"Isumi? Are you ok?"

"Yes. Of course I am." Isumi said with a bit too much annoyance in his voice.

"No you're not. I can tell. You're angry." Waya moved so that he was face to face with Isumi.

"I'm not angry." Isumi raised his voice not making eye contact with Waya.

Waya sighed. "Isumi, how many times do I have to tell you? Shindo Shuichi is my favorite singer. That's all. I have no feelings for him in that way what-so-ever."

"I can't help but think that. You always speak so highly of Shuichi. And just seeing your reaction……"

Waya gently wrapped his arms around Isumi and held him close. He leaned in, resting his cheek next to his ear. "Since my words aren't enough to convince you, I will prove my feelings to you."

"WHAT!?"

Waya leaned forward, forcing his weight onto Isumi while slowly lowering him down on his back onto the floor. "Wait, Waya! What are you…..Ahh….Stop…Waya…..Ahhh…!"

* * *

"…..as it is definitely one of the most unusual couplings to come about. The question is, will the public accept this relationship between Shindo and Toya? Only time will tell. Back to you in the studio."

The television set was turned off revealing K in its dark reflection.

"Waaah! I feel like my life is coming to an end!" Shuichi buried his head in his arms, feeling quite depressed from what he just heard on TV.

"This is just going to keep getting worse and worse if we keep letting the media speculate like this." K turned and walked back over to the conference room table.

"Well it is your job to fix things like this, isn't it?" Fujisaki stated.

"Can't we just tell them that the person I was with was Hikaru and not Shuichi?" Akira asked.

"This is the media we're talking about. It's hard to stop a story like this once its spread. And if enough people believe it, it begins to take a life of its own." Hiro replied.

"It would be too complicated to explain what really happened. It would just cause you, Shuichi and Bad Luck more problems, not to mention you'll be dragging Hikaru into this." Sakano explained.

Shuichi continued to cry, too caught up in his own emotions to contribute to the discussion.

Akira understood Sakano's point. This was completely new territory for the young Go player. He was still having a hard time believing he was a part of a scandal that has most likely spread throughout Japan by now. What could they do? K brought him here to discuss their options. But how do you fight something as powerful as the media? How do you convince the media and its audience that the very picture that started this whole mess isn't what it looks like, even though it is, but with a completely different person? The more Akira thought about this, the more he began to feel like Shuichi sulking in his chair. Was there a way out of this? He was having a hard time concentrating at that moment. He tried to focus his thoughts. "Then how does one go about undoing a misconception the media has spread?"

"We just have to come up with a better explanation for this picture." K threw down the tabloid newspaper that Akira had the unfortunate pleasure of reading just days ago.

Akira stared at the picture. That was the worst position the photographer got them in - caressing Hikaru's injured hand. At least he didn't kiss him. He almost did at that moment. At least Shuichi's fans distracted them. But how do you explain such a strange position?

"Well I sure hope you have some idea what we're going to do because right now I can't think of anything." Hiro leaned back in his chair getting frustrated with the little progress that has been made so far in this meeting.

Fujisaki remained uninvolved with the meeting.

There was a moment of silence when Shuichi lifted his head slightly so as to be able to peer over his arms that he was resting on at Hiro.

K drew his attention to his glum singer. "Shuichi."

Shuichi wrapped his arms tighter around his head and whimpered.

"Shuichi!" K raised his voice.

"What?" Shuichi's voice sounded shaken from being so upset.

"This concerns you too. Don't you think you should stop crying and help contribute to the discussion?"

"I don't care what you do, just as long as I can be with Yuki." At just the mere mention of Yuki's name, Shuichi's eyes began to well up with tears. "Ohhh, Yuuukkkiiiii!" Shuichi buried his head deeper into his folded arms and continued to cry even harder than before.

"I take it Yuki is being mean to you again?" Hiro unnecessarily asked Shuichi. Shuichi's cries became louder.

Every person in the room heaved a big sigh at Shuichi's all too well known crying tantrum except for Akira. His attention was still fixated on the tabloid picture. He focused on his and Hikaru's hands in the photo. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Shindo." Akira spoke aloud but not loud enough to be heard above Shuichi's continuing cries.

"Shindo." Akira raised his eyes from the picture. "May I see your hand?"

Everyone looked at Akira puzzled. "Why do you want to see Shuichi's hand?" Hiro spoke up first.

Shuichi clearly wasn't paying any attention to what was being said. He simply continued to cry, thinking only of Yuki.

"Shuichi, give Akira your hand." K said firmly. Shuichi made no movements to indicate he had heard K's command. A few seconds passed with no movement from Shuichi when Fujisaki grabbed Shuichi's arm and pulled it out from under him.

"H-hey!" Shuichi yelled.

"Stop being such a crybaby." Fujisaki mocked Shuichi. Shuichi was resistant. He tried pulling his hand back when he saw out of the corner of his eye K's gun pointed at his head.

"Give Akira your hand." K said sternly. Shuichi froze.

"Please" Akira looked at Shuichi. "May I look at your hand?"

"Why?" Shuichi asked

K pulled the hammer back on his gun.

Shuichi hesitated for only a moment and with tears dripping down his face Shuichi looked at Akira who was sitting directly across from him and stretched his arm out across the conference room table.

Akira took Shuichi's hand and examined the back of it. Akira looked at his fingers. He gently stretched Shuichi's fingers out. Then he gently turned his hand around and he began to examine the palm of Shuichi's hand. Shuichi, Hiro, Fujisaki, K and Sakano watched with great interest and wonder as Akira studied every inch of Shuichi's hand.

"Thank you, Shindo." He released Shuichi's hand and remained silent as he contemplated the last few moments. Looks were exchanged among the members of Bad Luck. K decided it was ok to reholster his weapon.

"Mr. K." Akira finally spoke. "I believe I may have a solution to our situation."

"You do?" Everyone said in unison. Disbelief crossed the faces of each person in the room. Out of all the people there, Toya Akira is the first to come up with a way to solve this crisis that they were going through. And he came up with this all by just looking at Shuichi's hand?

"Well" K sat down at the table "I am very curious to hear what you think will put an end to you and Shuichi's so called love affair."

"You certainly got my attention." Hiro leaned forward.

Everyone's eyes were stuck on Akira. Akira's eyes fixed only on Shuichi. Shuichi returned his gaze but with much more confusion in his stare.

"In order for my idea to work Shindo, I'm going to need your full cooperation."

* * *

The N-G Productions press room was quickly filling with TV, radio, newspaper and magazine reporters. Many came early to be the first ones to get the best seats in the room. Those in TV were busy setting up their cameras and talking amongst themselves speculating what the upcoming announcement will be that will occur later that morning. Finally, an official statement in regards to the latest scandal involving the lead singer in one of Japan's hottest bands.

* * *

Hikaru sat in the small foyer of his house taking his time while he slipped on his yellow shoes. He really didn't have anywhere specific he wanted to go. He was getting restless just sitting at home. His father had gone to work and his mother went to visit his grandfather. He thought about staying at home today studying Go in his room, but he felt like going out. _But where? _

Hikaru finished putting on his shoes and remained where he was still staring at his feet. '_I don't feel like staying home right now. But where should I go? Perhaps I should stop by the Go Salon. I wonder if Akira will be there.'_ Hikaru felt excited by the thought of seeing Akira again. '_But then again he was pretty mad at me the last time I saw him. Maybe it's too soon.' _The adrenalin that flowed through him at the thought of seeing Akira began to subside. '_Come to think of it, Akira probably isn't there. That is probably the last thing he wants to do is go out in public where he has to face people who will most likely criticize him.' _The last bit of excitement he had in him disappeared with this last thought. Now he felt a bit depressed, but he still didn't want to stay home. He needed to get out. He needed to go somewhere that would take his mind off of things.

Hikaru willed himself out of his daze, stood up and proceeded to the front door. He opened the door and as he looked out ahead of him expecting to see his quiet front yard he found the one person he had been longing to see.

Startled, but he made no outward reaction to that effect due to his preoccupied mind, Hikaru stood in his doorway.

"Oh good, you're here. I need you to come with me." Akira grabbed Hikaru by the arm.

"Wha?" Hikaru looked dumbfounded at Akira. Before he knew it Akira was dragging him out of his house. Hikaru grabbed the doorknob to shut the door behind him as he was forced off the small porch and onto the small path that led to the end of his front yard. Hikaru finally noticed the black car that was parked right in front of the gate to his house. He immediately noticed Sakano standing outside the drivers' side door, nervously looking at his watch.

"What's going on? Why is he here?" Hikaru pulled his arm back that Akira was holding onto.

"I asked Mr. Sakano to stop by your house to pick you up so that we can go to N-G Productions together."

"N-G Productions? What the heck are you talking about, Akira?" Hikaru was becoming frustrated.

"You mean your cousin didn't tell you?" Akira brought his hand to his chin and began thinking out loud to himself. "I was sure he would have contacted you by now."

Hikaru gave Akira a puzzled look waiting to see what Akira would do next. Akira suddenly looked at Hikaru. For some reason this startled Hikaru. The look Akira gave him was serious, but there was something else in his gaze that Hikaru didn't quite understand.

"Um, A-Akira?" Hikaru said cautiously.

"Hikaru."

"Y-yes?" Hikaru jumped.

"I need you to come with me." Akira grabbed Hikaru's arm again and began pulling him towards the car.

"Why?" Hikaru demanded as he pulled away once again. "And what does this have to do with Shuichi?"

"Um, excuse me" Sakano began nervously. "But we really must be going."

"Listen Hikaru, I really need you to be there with me."

Hikaru didn't expect this. Akira's words echoed through his head. _'He needs me?' _Hikaru began to blush. "Why do you need me there? Does it have something to do with Go?"

"All your questions will be answered when we get there." Akira held out his hand to Hikaru and smiled.

Hikaru had no clue what was going on and why Akira was going to N-G Productions where his cousin worked. Since he had nothing special to do that day he decided to go with Akira. Besides he was very curious to find out what all of this was about. Sakano opened the back door for Akira and Hikaru. They both climbed in and he shut it behind them. Sakano then got into the drivers' seat and started the engine.

"You don't have a game today, do you?" Akira asked Hikaru.

"No."

"Good."

Sakano pulled the car away from the front of Hikaru's house and made they made thier way to N-G Productions.

* * *

Sakano pulled into the parking garage of N-G Productions. He opened the car door for Akira and Hikaru and led them to the elevator that would lead them to their destination.

The elevator chimed as it stopped at the floor they were headed to. Sakano took the lead and walked down the hallway with Akira and Hikaru in tow.

"Mmmmmm…..Mmmmmmm!"

_'What is that?' _Hikaru heard something strange up ahead.

"Mmmmmmmmmm!"

Whatever it was, it was getting louder and louder. As they passed by a room, Hikaru looked inside to find the source of the noise he was hearing.

"Shuichi!" Hikaru ran into the room. Shuichi was tied to a chair with rope from head to toe. He had duct tape plastered over his mouth. "Oh my gosh, what happened?"

"Mmm, Mmmmm!" Shuichi continued struggling.

"Here, let me take the tape off your mouth." Hikaru grabbed hold of the duct tape and ripped it off Shuichi's mouth.

"OUCH! Geez Hikaru, be a little more careful!" Shuichi yelled at his cousin.

"Sorry. What happened? Why are you all tied up?" Hikaru asked just standing in front of Shuichi.

Shuichi continued to struggle to get the rope loose but to no avail. "Hikaru, I need you to get me out of here now!"

"Why?"

"Don't just stand there and ask why!" Shuichi screamed. "Hurry up and untie me!"

"Ok, ok." Hikaru moved two steps towards Shuichi to untie him when three bullets went flying between Hikaru and Shuichi. They both froze as they were.

"Now, now. Who said you could untie Shuichi?" Hikaru saw Shuichi's eyes well up with tears as he looked in the direction of the entrance to the room. Hikaru slowly turned his head, being careful not to move his body, to see K standing in the doorway pointing his gun at the two of them. Akira and Sakano were right behind K.

"Move away from Shuichi." K motioned with his gun. Hikaru didn't hesitate and backed away.

"K!" Shuichi began to whine. "Please let me go! I don't want to do this!"

"How many times do we have to go through this?" K said to himself. Then he directed his attention at Shuichi. "This is the only way to clear your name and Toya's name."

"But" Tears started streaming down Shuichi's face. "This is so unfair! There has to be another way!"

"Shuichi" K moved into the room. Akira and Sakano followed. "Remember, the choice is to do this and you get to be with Yuki or don't do this and you'll never seem him again." K exaggerated.

"What's unfair? What's going on here today?" Hikaru asked. Hikaru wasn't sure what to expect. He knew that K took drastic measures for even the smallest situations. What could possibly be so bad that K would have to tie Shuichi up for?

"Well Hikaru" K began. "We are having a press conference in a little under thirty minutes."

"A press conference? For what?"

"To put an end to the story that Shuichi and Toya are having a love affair."

Hikaru didn't need to hear that. _'Love affair.' _And especially with Shuichi's name in the same sentence with Akira's. So that's why they're here? Hikaru read the article and knows the whole story is a misunderstanding that the media blew way out of proportion. I guess hearing it from K like that really showed Hikaru how much the story really bothered him. _'But if they're here to set the story straight, I wonder what they came up with to tell the media? Not only that, why is Shuichi so upset as to not want to be here? I thought he would want to be here to put an end to this untrue story that is going around about him. And why did Akira want me to be here so badly?' _

"Akira!" Hikaru's thoughts were interrupted. Hikaru's attention was drawn to the man who flew into the room and jumped onto Akira.

"Mr. S-Sakuma!"

"I'm glad I got to see you again so soon!" Ryuichi laughed. He broke the long hug he gave Akira. "Mr. Bear is happy to see you as well!"

_'Who is this guy? And why is he all over Akira?' _Hikaru started to exhibit and aura of anger at the man who just embraced Akira. _'Wait, he's the guy that was at Akira's house, the night we all got drunk.'_

Ryuichi began to laugh again when he saw Shuichi. "Are you playing a game? Looks like you've been caught Shuichi! Can I play too?"

"Ryuichi, not now." K said. "We're getting ready for a press conference."

"Oh really?" Ryuichi said disappointed. "Well, I guess we can't play today, huh Akira?"

_'And you're calling him by his first name?!!!' _Hikaru's anger aura was reaching the boiling point.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sakuma. Maybe next time." Akira apologized.

"Promise!?" Ryuichi's mood changed from being depressed to hopeful.

_'What are you doing Akira?'_

"I promise."

_'WHAT!?'_

"Next time we can play."

"YAY!!" Ryuichi cheered. He finally noticed Hikaru standing off to the side. "Hey, it's Shuichi's cousin! What was your name again? Oh right, Hikaru! Let's play too ok?" Ryuichi grinned at Hikaru.

Hikaru forgot all about his anger with Ryuichi as he stared blankly at him. He didn't expect Ryuichi to approach him like this.

Ryuichi's smile faded as he tilted his head to the side and looked at Hikaru with concern. He wasn't answering him. "Um, Hikaru? You Ok?" Still no answer.

Ryuichi held out Mr. Bear in front of him. "Do you need Mr. Bear to give you a hug?"

"What?" Hikaru said softly. Then he finally came to his senses. "Um, no, um I mean I'm fine."

"So, you'll play too?"

"Yeah, I'll play."

"Great!" Ryuichi smiled again as if nothing happened. "Well then, I'll leave you to your work. Good luck everyone." Ryuichi left the room.

* * *

25 minutes had past. The N-G Productions press room was filled to capacity with reporters. Some were filming live for their morning news broadcasts. They were moments away from getting the real story behind Shindo and Toya's relationship.

Backstage, Shuichi was finally untied and waited beside Akira, K, Sakano, and Hikaru. Hiro and Fujisaki showed up just in time to lend their support to Shuichi.

"Hikaru." Akira said. "I wish I had more time to explain what is going to happen but just know that this must happen."

"What must happen?" Hikaru's curiosity was getting the better of him.

Akira slipped his hand around Hikaru's hand and squeezed it tightly. He looked Hikaru directly in the eyes. They stood in silence for what seemed like hours, but were quickly interrupted out of their moment together.

"It's time." K said.

"Please, just listen and I'll explain everything to you later." Akira slowly let go of Hikaru's hand and walked up beside a depressed Shuichi. Suddenly, Shuichi turned around and glared at Hikaru.

"What!"

"This is all your fault!" Shuichi accused Hikaru. "If not for you, I wouldn't have to do this!"

"Shuichi!" Hiro snapped. "Now's not the time!"

K forcefully turned Shuichi around and placed him beside Akira. "You're going out there now. Remember to say what we told you to say, Shuichi? Toya?"

Akira nodded to K and began walking out into the press room. Shuichi reluctantly followed a little behind Akira.

As they entered into view of the press, cameras began furiously taking pictures of Akira and Shuichi as they made their way to the table at the front of the room. Neither of them looked at the crowd in the room. Each one focused on the table they were headed towards. Shuichi felt as though his life will be over soon. Akira knew he might have to jump in for Shuichi at anytime.

They made it to the table and sat down finally getting their first look at all of the news reporters in the room. The cameras kept snapping pictures of the two of them side by side. Akira new this was being broadcast live. He told his parents to watch the news this morning so they will be able to see the conclusion to this untrue story.

Shuichi was to begin speaking, but he hesitated. Akira glanced over at Shuichi. It looked as though he was still preparing himself for this and wasn't exactly ready. The number of picture taking by the cameras had died down at this point. Anticipation hung in the air as the news reporters gave their undivided attention to the two young men in the front of the room.

It seemed to take forever for Shuichi to start talking. The one thing that motivated him was the red dot he saw floating on his hand. Shuichi took a deep breath in then out and then:

"Thank you everyone for taking the time to come here on such short notice. I am Shindo Shuichi, lead singer of the band Bad Luck."

"I am Toya Akira, Professional Go Player."

"We have both decided to come here today to respond to the rumors going around about our supposed relationship and to tell you that the story that was printed about us having an affair is false."

Reporters began taking pictures again.

"Then how do you explain that picture of the two of you in the alley?" A reporter shot out.

"And right before your concert, Mr. Shindo." Another reporter added.

Shuichi hesitated for another moment. Akira looked at Shuichi and was about to speak for him when Shuichi forced himself to respond. "I had been wanting to meet with Toya for some time now. I had heard about his accomplishments as a young Go player and how he turned Pro at such a young age. I was impressed."

"I didn't know you followed Go?" One reporter questioned.

"I don't really. My cousin plays Go so that's what peaked my curiosity." Shuichi went silent at this point and Akira took over from here.

"Mr. Shindo contacted me and wanted to meet with me. That time before the concert was the only free time we both had to meet. We met in the alley to be discrete so as not to draw attention to Mr. Shindo."

"But why contact you in the first place? Have you met before?" A reporter asked.

"No, we had never met before this. The reason we met in person was because he had made a request of me and so I wanted to make sure I would be able to accommodate his request."

Pictures of the two of them were being taken with a fury once again. All the reporters, those who were watching TV, even Hikaru were hanging on every word Akira had to say. They knew he would reveal the real reason behind their meeting with the next few sentences he says.

One reporter asked boldly and bluntly, "Then I'm sure your response will also explain you holding Mr. Shindo's hand."

"Actually, it does."

Whispering could be heard among the reporters. Now Akira definitely had their undivided attention.

"I was examining his hand." Akira saw the puzzled looks. He continued his explanation. "When I look at a person's hand, I can tell what kind of a Go player they are. Since Mr. Shindo has very little experience, I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to waste my time and his with his request. And to my relief I can say that everything is fine."

"And what was fine?" A reporter asked.

"For me to become his instructor."

"Instructor?"

"Yes. I met with Mr. Shindo to discuss me becoming his Go instructor. And I have agreed to do so."

A fury of flashes filled the room as well as reporters talking to each other and exchanging opinions and comments.

Hikaru stared in disbelief. He couldn't believe what Shuichi had agreed to. Hikaru knew better than anyone that Go was the last thing that Shuichi ever wanted to learn and now their solution to this scandal was to say that Akira is going to teach Shuichi how to play Go? No wonder K had Shuichi tied up. Just knowing he has to play Go, he probably would have run away leaving this scandal to continue. How did they think that whole story up? Especially about looking at his (my) hand? That he would definitely have to ask Akira about later. No wonder Shuichi was angry with him.

* * *

"WHAT!?" Waya jumped out of bed and scrambled to the TV. The look of horror and shock appeared on his face from hearing that his favorite pop star is going to be taught Go by the one person he couldn't stand in this world. "THAT COULD HAVE BEEN ME!" Waya gripped the sides of the TV set. "I CAN TEACH SHUICHI GO BETTER THAN HE CAN! WHY IS IT ALWAYS HIM!!!!"

Behind him in bed, Isumi put his head back down on the pillow and heaved a heavy sigh.

* * *

The lighter remained lit inches from the cigarette that was being held in his mouth. The look of disbelief crossed his face. "So, he's going to learn Go, huh?" Yuki finally lit the cigarette, took a puff and exhaled slowly. "Good luck, Toya."

* * *

"I didn't just hear that did I?" Heihachi turned to his daughter in law who was busy pouring the tea. "Shuichi is going to learn Go?"

"That's what it sounded like to me."

"When did he develop and interest in Go? I tried to teach him when he was younger but he had no interest whatsoever."

"He has been hanging around Hikaru a lot recently." Hikaru's mother pointed out. "Maybe he picked up the interest from him."

"Maybe. The two of them are very close just like brothers." Heihachi thought for a moment while looking at his grandson on TV. He laughed to himself. "I'll have to play a game with Shuichi sometime."

Hikaru's mother sighed and said to herself, "What is it with this family and Go?"

* * *

A smile broke across Toya Meijin's face after hearing the announcement on TV by his son and Shindo Shuichi. This unfortunate situation is finally coming to an end. _'Akira can now finally concentrate on Go. Of course he'll be giving lessons in between his matches, but at least he can put this behind him.'_

"I'm so glad." Akira's mother began. "He can finally put this behind him." Toya Meijin looked at his wife, then smiled to himself.

"I am glad as well."

Back in the press room, reporters were shouting out questions and taking numerous pictures. Backstage everyone watched, relieved that the conference went well.

"Wow, I'm jealous!" Ryuichi leaned his head on Hikaru's shoulder startling him. "Shuichi is going to learn Go from Akira. I want to learn too!"

"Ryuichi, I'm surprised you know what Go is." K stated.

"Actually" Ryuichi began to think " I don't have a clue what it is."

Everyone around Ryuichi shook their heads, each one thinking Ryuichi actually knew what Go is.

"But if Shuichi is going to learn, I want to as well."

"You can get Hikaru to teach you." K offered.

"What?" Hikaru didn't need anyone offering him to do anything.

"You know how to play Go, Hikaru?"

"Y-yes I do." Hikaru replied reluctantly.

"Then you can teach me and we can all play together." Ryuichi hugged Hikaru from behind excited by the thought of all four of them playing together even though he had no clue what kind of a game Go is.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 Late Lunch**

"This is the worst thing that could ever happen to me!" Shuichi cried.

"I thought the worst thing that could happen to you is if Yuki left you."

"Fujisaki!" Hiro scolded but it was too late. Shuichi began to cry even louder and harder than before.

"Oh YUUUKKKIIIII!!!"

K rolled his eyes and turned back to Akira. "We're still scheduled for his first Go lesson in three days."

Akira looked over at Shuichi who was now on the floor scrunched up in a ball with Hiro standing over him trying to console him. "Don't worry about Shuichi. He'll be there and he won't be crying." Akira's unasked question was answered.

"I look forward to it, I think." Akira's attention was drawn away from the child-like Shuichi to his cousin. He found Hikaru to be in quite a different state. Staring at nothing in particular, Hikaru stood there looking off into space. K caught Akira's concerned gaze and followed it to witness Hikaru's melancholy mood.

"I wonder what's got him down." K observed.

"I'm not sure." Akira answered. K wasn't expecting any kind of response but once he got another look at Akira he knew immediately what had to be done.

"Well, I'm sure you're tired from the press conference. Take it easy for the rest of the day, but it looks like you have something to take care of first. I have my own work cut out for me." K's attention was drawn to Bad Luck's gloomy lead singer. "Try to keep a low profile until the lesson." K left Akira and made his way over to Shuichi and the others. Akira's attention remained fixated on the other gloomy, much quieter cousin. He was about to walk over when Sakano suddenly blocked his path.

"If you're ready to leave" Sakano started "I can drive you home Akira."

Akira looked past Sakano at Hikaru and studied him a while longer.

"Akira, is something wrong?"

"No, everything is fine." Akira turned his attention to Sakano. "I'm ready to leave whenever you are."

"Great…."

"Mr. Sakano?"

"Yes, K?" K made his way over to Sakano.

"I'll take care of driving Akira home. I need you to take care of Shuichi."

"What?" Sakano looked over at Shuichi who was still on the floor crying. "But K, you're much better at handling situations like this not to mention getting them under control faster than I can."

"That's true, but I have something I need to take care of so I can drop off Akira and Hikaru on my way and besides"

"WHAAAAAAAH!" Shuichi continued crying.

"He'll tire himself out soon enough so I don't need to worry about him trying to run just yet."

Sakano sighed at having Shuichi in this state dumped on him like this. "I thought you were going to take care of him."

K and Akira were walking towards Hikaru when K stopped and turned around. "I'll be taking care of him later when he calms down." K turned back around. "Let's go you two." K's hand on Hikaru's shoulder startled him out of his daze.

"Huh?" Hikaru looked up at K.

"We're leaving."

"Oh." Hikaru looked over at his cousin to say goodbye and the sound of his cousin wailing at the top of his lungs finally reached his ears. An obvious question ran across his face and before he could open his mouth to ask it, K grabbed Hikaru by the shoulder and turned him away from Shuichi.

"Just let him be."

"But…"

"He'll be fine Hikaru." K, Hikaru and Akira made their way to the parking garage.

* * *

Silence filled the car as K drove Hikaru and Akira home. Each one sat at opposite ends in the back seat looking out their respective windows. K observed each one's behavior through the rear view mirror. Hikaru was lost in his own thoughts while Akira was trying to form the words he wanted to say to Hikaru.

K pulled the car over. Hikaru and Akira remained as they were. "We're here, Hikaru."

"Huh?" Hikaru finally noticed that they had stopped in front of his house. "Oh, thanks for the ride." Hikaru looked over at Akira. There eyes met and remained like that for a few moments. Then Hikaru opened the car door and stepped out without a word. Surprised, Akira quickly jumped out of the car.

"Hikaru, wait." Akira ran around the car and up alongside Hikaru.

"What is it?"

Akira and Hikaru stared at each other in silence for a long moment before Akira spoke. "Let me walk you to your door."

"What!?" Hikaru was completely surprised by this request. "My door is only a few feet away. I think I can manage that distance on my own."

"That's not the point."

Hikaru shrugged his shoulders and sighed. He put his hands in his pockets. "Fine, if it'll make you happy." Hikaru opened the gate to his yard and walked ahead of Akira.

"That's not what I meant." Akira said to himself and then proceeded to follow Hikaru. When Hikaru reached the porch, he stopped and took out the keys from inside his pocket. Akira stepped onto the porch as well. "Is everything ok?"

"Why would you ask that?" Hikaru busied himself with unlocking his front door.

"You seem quite distracted." Akira paused for a moment before continuing. "I want to explain to you what was said at the press conference."

Hikaru opened the door. "I already heard what you had to say this morning." Hikaru kept himself from looking at Akira. "There's nothing more to be said." Hikaru began to walk inside his house when Akira grabbed Hikaru's arm to stop him. This got Hikaru to turn and face Akira and what he found was a stern expression across Akira's face.

"Í think there is more to be said and I think you're the one who has things to say."

Hikaru didn't know how he was feeling at that moment about the current situation but with Akira not letting him be, was getting him quite angry. He wanted time to think more. "You shouldn't keep K waiting." Hikaru restrained himself from yelling at Akira. "You know how he gets when he's kept waiting too long." In almost an instant Hikaru's restrained anger turned to confusion. Akira wondered before realizing that Hikaru wasn't looking at him but past him. "Where did…?" Akira turned around and where the car was supposed to be was replaced with the empty street before them.

"What happened?" Akira asked. "When did K leave?" Akira turned back to Hikaru. "Did you see him leave?"

"No, I was being distracted talking to you." Hikaru said in cynically. "You were probably taking too long."

"I don't think K would just leave like that." Akira observed.

Hikaru thought about it. "I guess you're right. If he wanted you back in the car he would've threatened us with his gun. Why did he just drive off?" Hikaru got angry again. "That was rude of him! Now how are you going to get home?"

_He really has no idea. _Akira thought to himself.

"Since you're here, would you like to come in?"

"Sure." Hikaru entered his house with Akira following close behind. They took off their shoes; Hikaru put his bag down on the floor and began walking towards the kitchen with Akira following behind him.

Hikaru opened the door to the kitchen. "Mom? Mom?" Hikaru called out but no one answered. He looked around the kitchen and dining area but she was no where to be found. "Huh, I wonder where mom went. Oh, man and I'm hungry." Hikaru complained.

Hikaru walked into the kitchen. "Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"Man, I haven't eaten all day. I skipped breakfast this morning. Well, let's see what we have." Hikaru opened a couple of cabinets and began rummaging through them. He grabbed hold of something and pulled it out. "It's not ramen, but it'll do. Want some?" Hikaru was about to open the bag of potato chips he just pulled from the cupboard above him.

"That's what you're having to eat?" Akira looked shocked.

"Yeah, why? Don't you like potato chips?" Hikaru was about to open the bag when Akira placed his hands over Hikaru's stopping him.

"Hikaru, you must have something else besides chips to eat."

"Of course I do, but everything else I have needs to be cooked."

"And you don't know how to cook?"

Hikaru threw a questioning look at Akira. Akira read his face loud and clear. Unsurprised by the answer, Akira decided to take control of the situation. "Fine then, I'll make us something."

"You will?" Hikaru was taken aback.

* * *

Akira stirred the miso soup carefully. He removed the ladel and placed it on the counter beside the stove and placed the lid back on the soup. "How's the vegetables coming?" Akira turned around to where Hikaru was busying himself with cutting up the vegetables. He was in the middle of chopping up carrots. He was being quite slow and the pieces weren't at all even, in fact you could tell this was his first time helping out in the kitchen. He didn't look too thrilled at all to be doing this.

Akira smiled to himself as he watched Hikaru, who was slightly bent over the counter, slowly cutting the vegetables. "I'm almost done." Hikaru said annoyed then he caught Akira smiling. "What?"

"Nothing. You just look, cute, that's all."

Hikaru blushed and stood up straight. "Cute? I don't want to hear that from you." Hikaru continued chopping. Akira laughed.

"Oww!" The knife fell on the counter top.

"What happened?" Akira rushed over to Hikaru who was holding his left hand.

"I cut myself."

"Let me see." Akira took Hikaru's left hand and pulled it towards him.

"That hurts."

"Sorry." Akira saw the blood streaming from Hikaru's index finger. "You cut yourself. Where are your band aids?"

"In that cabinet over there." Hikaru pointed.

Akira retrieved the first aid kit from the cabinet and walked back over to Hikaru. He placed the box on the counter and opened it looking for a band aid. He took out some disinfectant and a cotton ball, wet the cotton ball and reached out for Hikaru's injured hand. He brought the cotton ball to Hikaru's cut finger and gently dabbed it.

"Ah!" Hikaru tensed.

"Sorry. I'll try to make this quick." Akira continued to dab the wound with the cotton ball. Once he was done, he took the band aid and wrapped it around Hikaru's finger. "There." He looked at Hikaru. "How's that?"

"It's fine. Thank you."

"Be careful, Hikaru."

"Huh?"

"This is the second time you've injured one of your hands." He held Hikaru's hand in his. "Your hands are too precious." He began to gently caress Hikaru's left hand. Hikaru's heart began to pound. He felt his face grow hot. He looked away. The pain he felt from his cut had vanished in an instant and in its place he felt the warm touch of Akira's hands on his.

_What should I do? _Something caught his eye. "Akira, the soup."

Akira looked over at the stove to see the soup pot steaming. "Oh no." Akira ran over to the stove, turned it down and grabbed a hot mitt. He quickly removed the lid and fanned the steam away. "That was close." Akira stirred the soup. "I think you chopped up enough vegetables. You can bring them over here and I'll tell you what to do."

Hikaru gathered the vegetables he chopped up, put them in a bowl and carried them over to the stove.

"Where did you learn to cook?"

"I learned from my mother."

"Really?"

"Put them in here." Akira instructed Hikaru to place the vegetables into a pot on the stove. "I don't cook that often but I know the basics."

"This is my first time."

"You've never helped your mother prepare meals?"

"Heck no! I'm not good at cooking at all, in fact the one time I was forced to help her it was quite a disaster." Hikaru laughed.

"You seem to be doing fine with me. You just need practice."

This last comment surprised Hikaru. Akira was doing the majority of the work. Hikaru didn't really do anything special. "Well, I hate cooking. This'll probably be the only time I do something like this." Hikaru walked away and washed his hands.

* * *

The late lunch was finally finished. Hikaru finished setting the table while Akira dished out the meal that he prepared with Hikaru's help. Each one received a bowl of miso soup, salad, steamed vegetables and steamed white rice. To drink they each had iced tea. They sat across from each other and they started their meal. At first they were both quiet.

"Is the food ok?" Akira finally broke the silence.

"Mm. Yeah, everything's good."

"I'm glad." Akira watched Hikaru as he ate his meal. Hikaru must've been really hungry since he was eating quite fast. Akira put his chop sticks down and continued to observe Hikaru.

Akira broke the silence once more. "What did you think of the press conference?"

"What?" Hikaru asked with his mouth full continuing to eat not looking at Akira.

"It must've surprised you to learn that I will become your cousin's Go instructor."

"Not really." Hikaru drank his iced tea with a mouth full of food.

"Then why were you so depressed afterwards?"

"Depressed?" This got Hikaru's attention. He stopped eating long enough to defend himself. "I wasn't depressed."

"You certainly looked it to me."

"You were imagining things."

Not knowing where to go from here, Akira continued eating but much slower than his companion across the table.

"Whose idea was it?" Hikaru asked out of the blue.

"Actually it was mine."

The shock of his answer caused Hikaru to freeze. "Your idea? Why would you do something like that?"

"It was the only logical answer."

"And you decided on teaching Shuichi Go?"

"In order to convince everyone that we weren't having a relationship. I thought you would be happy." Akira matched Hikaru's tone.

"Happy? Me? This just means you'll be busier." Hikaru leaned his head on his hand while he played with his food.

Akira noticed the look on Hikaru's face was the same as when he was at N-G Productions. _Is this what he was so depressed about?_

"I'm sorry. It was the only way."

Hikaru remained silent, then after a few moments he spoke softly. "Hm, funny isn't it? After all this you'll end up spending more time with Shuichi."

"It's not like I want to….." It finally hit Akira. "Is that what you're upset about?"

Hikaru couldn't bear it anymore. He did want to face Akira. He quickly stood up and ran. Before he got too far Akira had jumped up and grabbed his arm. "Let go!" Akira pulled Hikaru back with all his might and managed to slam him up against the wall.

"Don't run away!" Akira held Hikaru by his shoulders. Hikaru continued to struggle. Seeing he was about to lose this battle of strength, Akira did the only thing he knew he could do to calm Hikaru down. He knew he had one chance at this. He took one of his hands off of Hikaru's shoulder, grabbed his chin to stop his head from moving, then he leaned in and kissed him ever so gently. The shock of such an act certainly got Hikaru to stop struggling. Eyes wide open, Hikaru froze and waited to see what came next. When Akira felt he got the situation under control he removed his lips from Hikaru's.

Akira looked into Hikaru's eyes. "That's better. Now, will you tell me why you're so upset?"

Hikaru remained silent.

"All right, I'll tell you why you're upset. Me taking your cousin on as a student means I won't have as much free time."

Hikaru made no reaction.

"Hikaru"

Hikaru flinched from the sound of his name.

"There is no reason for you to be jealous of your cousin."

Hikaru began to struggle more but Akira pressed his body up against Hikaru's restricting his movements.

"I'm not jealous of Shuichi!" Hikaru finally spoke. "I'm just…" Hikaru trailed off as his head lowered.

"You're just what?" Akira asked. When Hikaru made no movements, Akira touched Hikaru's chin and gently raised his head and to his amazement he saw tears forming in the corners of Hikaru's eyes. "What's wrong Hikaru?"

Hikaru wiped the tears away from his eyes. "A-already our schedules clash. Now you have extra responsibilities….."

"And you're afraid we won't be able to see each other outside of our Go matches." Akira took Hikaru into his arms and held him close. "I won't lie to you. It will be tough for a while. Taking on a student like this while I'm concentrating on my games. And you, being busy with your matches."

Hikaru didn't like hearing it spelled out like this. Deep down he knew this already. He buried his head deep into Akira's chest. He was right. As painful as it was to admit, Akira was right. _But what about us? What about us? What are we right now? Rivals? Friends? More than friends?_ Hikaru knew he felt more for Akira than just friends or rivals and he wanted to find out exactly what that was. But now something was getting in their way and that something was Shuichi. It wasn't technically his fault, actually it was Hikaru's fault.

Hikaru put his arms around Akira and squeezed tightly.

They stayed that way in silence for quite some time. Then Akira placed his hands on Hikaru's cheeks and lifted his head to be face to face with him. He saw the streaks of tears that ran down his face. His shirt was wet from where Hikaru buried his face.

With his thumbs, Akira brushed away the tears from Hikaru's cheeks. Hikaru closed his eyes. Akira took this as an invitation so Akira kissed Hikaru again. Their lips parted and their tongues met, twisting and intertwining. Akira delved deeper into Hikaru's mouth. Saliva dripped from the edges of Hikaru's mouth. Soft moans began to emerge. Each one caught up in the moment. Neither of them wanted to separate.

As resistant as he was, Akira pulled back. "Hikaru."

"Akira."

"Let's go to your room." Akira took Hikaru's hand. As they were about to start heading towards Hikaru's room, Hikaru hesitated.

"Is there something wrong?"

"N-no."

Akira took Hikaru's hand. "Then let's go." and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I want to be with you."

Fear began to overtake Hikaru. He wasn't sure why but going to his bedroom alone with Akira especially considering the mood they were both in made him anxious. He wasn't ready for this. "Akira."

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry. _Akira probably hates me right now. _"I can't. I know this is probably the one opportunity we have for a while, but…."

Akira read Hikaru's expression. Not wanting to force Hikaru to do anything he didn't want to, Akira backed off. "It's ok Hikaru." Akira squeezed Hikaru's hand.

Hikaru was a little surprised but relieved.

"But just know that next time I won't let you off the hook so easily."

"What?" The look Hikaru caught on Akira's face was one he had never seen before. It almost scared him.

The door to the kitchen opened. "Oh my!"

"Hikaru?"

Standing before them was Hikaru's mother and her friend, who likes to be called Jennifer. Immediately, Hikaru and Akira released their hold on each other's hands.

"What's going on here Hikaru?"

"We were just having a late lunch. Aki.., I mean Toya cooked for us."

"You made a guest cook?" Hikaru's mother was appalled.

"I was happy to do it." Akira quickly responded.

"Hikaru! I am so embarrassed!" Hikaru's mother scolded. "I deeply apologize for my son's rudeness."

"Mom!"

"I think it's cute!" Jennifer interrupted. "You must really care for him if you went to all this trouble." Jennifer continued excitedly. "I wonder if Yuri has done anything like this for his fiancée. I'll have to ask him next time I see him. Oh, I'm Shibuya Miko but you can call me Jennifer." She introduced herself to Akira.

"Jennifer this is serious." Hikaru's mother interceded.

"Oh, I know. You'll have to teach Hikaru how to cook properly the next time he entertains his special guest."

"Hikaru cook? He can't clean his room, let alone cook."

"What's that Toya? You need to leave? No problem. Let me show you to the door." Hikaru started pushing Akira out of the kitchen.

"What? I can't leave now. I still need to clean up."

"Don't worry about that." Hikaru continued pushing Akira. "I'll take care of cleaning up."

"It was nice meeting you." Jennifer called out.

"Uh, yes, it was nice meeting you too." Akira replied even though he didn't introduce himself.

Hikaru slammed the door to the kitchen once him and Akira were out. He sighed. "She can't be any more annoying."

"Hikaru, I can't leave just yet."

"Why?"

"I was the one who used your kitchen to cook so I should be the one to clean it."

"You're still harping on that? Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it. Besides, I really don't want you to be around those two." Hikaru pointed at the kitchen.

"I don't want to be rude."

"You're not being rude, Akira." Hikaru walked to the foyer. "My mom thinks this is all my fault anyway so she would expect me to be the one to clean up." Akira made his way over to Hikaru and came up alongside him. "I think she's more embarrassed than you are."

Akira backed off. As much as he hated the thought of leaving a mess he created at someone's house, Hikaru had a point. His mother did blame Hikaru and Akira didn't want to be any more trouble than he already was. Both were silent then Akira moved to put his shoes on. "Thank you for having me over."

"You can thank K."

Akira chuckled. "I suppose you're right."

"You're welcome."

This somewhat surprised Akira but he was happy for the response. After tying his shoes, Akira stood up and faced Hikaru who was standing in front of him just a few inches taller than Akira.

"When do your lessons start?" Hikaru asked quietly.

"In three days."

"I see."

They stood there, eyes locked. Akira looked down to Hikaru's left hand. "How's your finger?" Akira reached out and gently wrapped his fingers around Hikaru's.

"It's much better."

Akira brought Hikaru's hand up to his lips and stopped only a few centimeters away letting his breath tickle Hikaru's fingers. "Make sure you take care of your finger. You don't want it to get infected."

Heart racing once more, Hikaru blushed and just watched to see what Akira would do. Would he kiss his hand? _If that's what he is going to do please just do it. You're driving me insane!_

"Are you ok, Hikaru?" Akira asked softly.

Hikaru jumped, being taken away from his thoughts. "I-I'm fine."

"Be patient." Akira smiled, studied Hikaru for a moment longer, then he released his hold on Hikaru's hand.

"What?" _Be patient for what?_

"I should be going." Akira turned to leave. He opened the door and quietly left leaving Hikaru alone.

"He really does care deeply for you."

Startled, Hikaru turned around quickly to see Jennifer standing only a few feet away from him. _Oh no! I hope she didn't see anything. _"W-what are you talking about?" Hikaru began to laugh nervously.

Jennifer walked over to Hikaru. "I can tell the two of you are very close. How long have you been seeing each other?"

"Um, I'm not sure what you mean."

"Oh, to be young again." Jennifer gently smiled at Hikaru. "Well, I must be going. Sorry we interrupted your date. Let your mom know beforehand when you plan such things so she doesn't get in the way."

Hikaru turned bright red horrified by what was coming out of Jennifer's mouth. The words he wanted to say wouldn't form in his mouth. Jennifer walked to the door to let herself out. "Looks like you caught yourself a good one. Good luck with everything." With that Jennifer left leaving a shocked Hikaru in the hall.

"HIKARU!" The door to the kitchen flew open. "GET IN HERE THIS INSTANT AND CLEAN UP!" Hikaru's mother stared at her son with rage burning in her eyes. Without a word, Hikaru turned around and began walking towards the kitchen. "I can't believe you! How could you conduct yourself in such a manner!"

"Mooom!" Hikaru whined.

"Don't 'Moom' me! I am very disappointed in you! "

"Ok, I get it!" Hikaru yelled back. He walked into the kitchen where the argument continued with no end in sight.

* * *

After cleaning up the kitchen, which took Hikaru over an hour to do, he finally retreated to his room and slammed the door shut. Finally, peace and quiet. Hikaru walked over to his bed and fell flat on top of it not moving. He rolled over onto his back and stared out the window. He began thinking about Akira.

Hikaru began to hear music. At first he was unsure what it was or where it was coming from but after a couple of seconds he realized it was his cell phone. Quickly, he jumped up and digged into his pocket and fished out his cell phone. He looked at the caller ID. It was K. Hikaru sighed heavily. "What now?" Not wanting to answer it but he knew better than that, Hikaru flipped the cell phone open and brought it to his ear.

"So did you have a good lunch?" K asked.

"Is that why you're calling?"

"I'm just making sure that you and Akira were getting along ok."

"That's none of your business!" Hikaru yelled.

"Unfortunately it is for now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hikaru wanted nothing more than to hang up on K.

"I need you to be free tomorrow night."

"For what?"

"I'll come pick you up around 6pm."

"Now wait a minute…." Hikaru heard the dial tone. K had hung up. This was really getting on Hikaru's nerves but there was nothing he could do about it. Going against K would bring about the worst. For now Hikaru would have to wait until tomorrow to find out what K needed with him once more.

Hikaru lied back down on his bed. "Why can't he just tell me now what he needs me for instead of being all secretive?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Go Lesson**

The crowd outside grew more and more as the minutes passed by. Not a speck of sidewalk could be seen down below. Toya Akira watched as people gathered outside his father's Go salon. People were even pouring into the streets to be as close to the entrance as possible.

"That's quite a crowd out there." Toya Meijin observed. He stood alongside his son as he watched the number of people gathering as the police tried to create some kind of organization out of the chaos. "I wonder if they're all here to see that young man you'll be teaching today. What was his name again? Shindo?"

"Shindo Shuichi." Akira answered. "I'm sure they're all here to see him. Any chance to see a pop star. This was all over the news so I'm not surprised by all of this."

"He's Hikaru's cousin right?" Toya Meijin asked.

"Yes he is."

"All this for a teaching lesson?" Ogata finally spoke up from behind. "It seems a little excessive don't you think?"

Toya Meijin turned around from the window. "It's what's needed to be done."

Ogata inhaled the smoke of his cigarette as he leaned up against the wall and he slowly exhaled. "It would've been better to have been more discrete about this instead of announcing it to all of Japan that you'd be taking on such a famous student. I don't know how you're going to conduct a Go lesson with so many distractions Akira."

"I'm sorry father."

"Why are you apologizing?"

Akira remained silent. Toya Meijin placed his hand on his son's head. That small gesture comforted Akira and caused his worries to subside.

"Hikaru's cousin, huh?" Ogata continued. "I wonder if he'll show any talent at the game. I'll be curious to find out."

"As will I." Akira said softly to himself. He continued watching below, the police fighting with the crowd to create a path for people to enter the building. Only those who worked in the building or had official business were allowed in. All the others were being placed behind police barricades. _I wonder how today will turn out._

_

* * *

__'Click!' _

"That's a keeper." Tatsuha said quietly as he admired the picture he just took with his phone. Happy with the result he archived the photo and put his phone away.

"What the hell are you doing?" Yuki walked by while he finished up his coffee.

"Shh! You'll wake them."

"So? It's about time they got up anyway."

"I can't believe you let him sleep out here in the living room. Aren't you jealous?"

"Tatsuha, they're cousins."

There in the living room of Yuki and Shuichi's apartment slept Hikaru and Shuichi side by side. They were leaned up against the couch on the floor with blankets wrapped around them. They were both in a deep slumber. In front of them spread out on the table was a Go board with black and white stones scattered across it.

"And they're so cute together. I can send you a copy of the picture I just took."

"No thanks."

"By the way, what have they been doing all night?" Tatsuha just noticed the go board. "They haven't been playing Go all night have they?"

Just then the doorbell rang. Yuki walked away and went to answer the door.

Yuki opened the door.

"Good morning." K greeted Yuki. Yuki just moved out of the way for K to enter the apartment. "So where is Shuichi?"

"In the living room."

"Shuichi, are you ready to go?" K stopped as he entered the living room, staring at his still sleeping pop singer. Pissed off but not surprised K whipped out his hand gun and pointed it at Shuichi and Hikaru fully intending on shooting however he stopped himself at the last second.

Tatsuha cowered where he was waiting for the loud noises and bullets to start flying. When nothing happened Tatsuha turned his head and looked up at K from where he was cowering on the floor. He saw K standing there pointing his gun.

"Aren't you going to shoot?" Tatsuha asked hesitantly.

K didn't answer right away. "No." He said as he retracted his weapon and reholstered it. A rather devious smile formed across his lips.

_If he's not going to shoot him what is he going to do?_

"I hope you have fun on your date, Yuki" K said unnecessarily loud. "Don't stay out too late today."

Like a flash of lightening, Shuichi's eyes popped open and he jumped up and flew past K. "YUUUUKIKKKIIIIII!!!!"

"What?" Yuki didn't have time to get out of the way. He was hit hard by Shuichi who jumped on him sending them both to the floor. Hikaru meanwhile fell to the floor with the absence of the person he was leaning on.

"HOW COULD YOU YUKI! A DATE!? WITH WHO!? I WON'T ALLOW IT!!!" Shuichi was straddled across Yuki's chest yelling and crying at the top of his lungs.

"Good, he's up." K said.

"He sure is." Tatsuha added stunned by what K had just done.

"I don't have a date you moron!" Yuki yelled back.

"Huh, what's going on?" Hikaru said groggily as he slowly opened his eyes.

"YES YOU DO! K JUST SAID…"

"And you believe him?" Yuki sighed. "I would've preferred you shot your gun to wake him up." Yuki said to K.

"What?" A confused Shuichi asked.

"Just get off me!" Yuki began to sit up and pushed Shuichi off of him.

"So you don't have a date?"

"Only with me." Tatsuha said as he came up alongside Shuichi and Yuki. "We have to get going soon Yuki."

"Where are you going today?" Shuichi asked still sitting on the floor.

"I have some family stuff to take care of."

"Is everything ok?" Shuichi stood up.

"Yes!" Yuki raised his voice getting annoyed. "Don't worry about it. It's stupid stuff. Besides you have something to do today as well don't you?"

_Playing Go._

"Good luck with that." Yuki said as headed toward the door.

Surprised by the rare pleasantry, Shuichi smiled and said, "Thanks Yuki." Yuki and Tatsuha left together as Shuichi stood there with tears welling up in his eyes.

"Shuichi, what time is it?" Hikaru asked as he pulled himself off the floor.

"It's time for us to leave." K answered. "Hurry up and get dressed Shuichi. Your lesson starts soon and we can't be late."

"Lesson? You mean its morning already?" Hikaru jumped up.

"Shuichi!" K yelled. Shuichi saw the dark look K gave him. Shuichi froze with fear. "If you're not ready in the next thirty seconds I'll be taking you to the morgue instead of the Go salon." K pointed his gun at Shuichi.

"I'm going!" Shuichi ran from K into one of the adjacent rooms and slammed the door. K looked at his wrist watch, timing Shuichi.

Hikaru began to get up off the floor. K quickly pointed his gun at Hikaru and he froze immediately. "B-but I didn't do anything?"

"Let's try to keep it that way." K checked his watch. "You've got 10 seconds, Shuichi before I come in there and get you." K shouted.

"Ok, ok!" Shuichi opened the door to the bedroom and walked out with his orange hoodie half on. Once he finally got the hoodie on, Shuichi hesitantly asked, "I don't suppose you'll let me grab something to eat really quickly?"

K just stared at Shuichi with a look that said: 'are you serious?'.

"Maybe on the way?" Shuichi tried smiling to lighten the mood.

Patience completely gone, K just grabbed Shuichi by the back of his collar and began dragging him out of the apartment.

"Yahhhh! Hey, watch it!" Shuichi struggled but K was just too strong for him.

"Hey, wait!" Hikaru called after Shuichi and K.

K emerged from the apartment building still dragging Shuichi behind him.

"Ow! You're hurting me!" Shuichi complained. "Let go!"

K and Shuichi made it to the car which was parked right in front of the building. K opened the back door and was about to throw Shuichi in when Hikaru finally caught up.

"Wait!" Hikaru yelled after them.

"Hikaru!" Shuichi pleaded. "Help me!"

"Don't come any closer." K commanded Hikaru.

Hikaru stopped running. "But…"

K's piercing gaze stopped Hikaru from speaking any further. K stood there for a moment just staring at Hikaru. Then K threw Shuichi into the back seat of the car and slammed the door shut. Shuichi scrambled to the window and placed his hands up against the window. He tried opening the door but it wouldn't budge. He tried unlocking the door but found to his surprise that he was unable to do so.

"You can't come with us."

"What? Why not?"

"Because this has to do with Shuichi not you."

A confused look crossed Hikaru's face. "What do you mean this has to do with Shuichi and not me? Of course I'm involved. You're the one that's involving me."

"You're right, of course." K walked over to Hikaru and stood only a couple of feet away from him. Hikaru looked at K astonished that he actually agreed so easily, but maybe not as easily as he thought. "But, you see Hikaru, today is about Shuichi. He needs to go alone. Plus, I can't risk you being 'discovered'."

"What do you mean?"

"You're Shuichi's cousin. I can't have the media find out about you. As Shuichi's manager it is my job to ensure everything goes as smoothly for his career as it possibly can. You have become a very important part in helping to achieve that goal."

"I have?"

"Yes, and that is why this time you need to stay behind." K walked away from Hikaru. Hikaru watched as K got into the driver's seat. He saw Shuichi speaking to K but he couldn't make out what was being said between the two. Most likely Shuichi was complaining to K about not wanting to attend his Go lesson. K started the engine and slammed on the gas pealing out of the parking spot, cutting off a couple of cars.

"K can be very mean sometimes."

"You can say that again." Hikaru watched as the car sped down the street until it was out of sight. _Wait a minute….who just said that? _Hikaru looked around to find the source of the comment and who he found was one person he never expected to see.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came by to wish Shuichi good luck today, but it looks like I just missed him.' Sakuma Ryuichi responded calmly to Hikaru's question. "It's too bad K wouldn't let you go along."

"Yeah."

"So why don't you come with me?"

"What?"

"It's not fair that Shuichi gets to learn how to play Go and I don't, so I want to go and play too."

"Um, you want to learn how to play Go? Why?"

"Because it sounds fun, and besides Akira plays Go so it has to be fun!" Ryuichi said excitedly.

"Why do you care so much about Akira?" Hikaru asked abruptly. Ryuichi's 'fondness' for Akira was starting to bother him.

"Because I've never met someone like him before!"

_Someone like him??? What does he mean by that?_

"To be friends with Akira…."

Hikaru could feel his blood start to boil inside of him.

"…I hope we can be good friends." Ryuichi began dancing around with Kumagoro.

Hikaru was at his limit. He was about to blow. Hearing Ryuichi talk about Akira like this, he could feel himself ready to explode at any moment.

"Isn't it great to know someone with that name?"

"Huh? Name?" Hikaru asked.

"Akira's."

"What about his name?"

"Isn't it a great name?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"I think it's cool! I've never known an Akira before and now I can say I do."

"Is that the only reason you like him?"

Ryuichi stopped dancing around and looked at Hikaru. The smile he carried faded quickly and he became quite serious. This was the first time Hikaru had see this particular look on his face that it almost frightened him.

"Akira is the type of person you don't meet everyday. He's a kind-hearted person and when I first met him I knew that I wanted to get to know him better."

Hikaru listened to Ryuichi as he spoke. _He wants to be friends. If it's only friendship he's after…_

"Even Kumagoro wants to be friends as well!" Ryuichi interrupted Hikaru's thoughts by holding up his pink bunny and swinging him around again. "Isn't that right, Kumagoro?"

Amazed by Ryuichi's sudden mood change, Hikaru just smiled unable to think of a response. _I can't really picture this guy and Akira as friends._

"So what do you say we get going?" Ryuichi smiled at Hikaru while hugging Kumagoro.

"S-sure."

* * *

The muffled, excited screams averted Akira's attention. Akira watched as the car slowly pulled up to the curb. Those who were close to the street were clamoring over each other to be as close to the car as they possibly could. The police had to fight to get the crowd to step back.

"I take it from the noise outside that he's here?" Toya Meijin asked his son.

"Yes." Akira watched as he saw K step out of the car. The spectators readied their cameras and began taking pictures as K opened the back door letting out Shindo Shuichi, lead singer of Bad Luck. The crowd went wild. The girls screamed at the top of their lungs, jumping with excitement. The media swarmed around Shuichi and K, snapping numerous pictures and taking film for their news broadcasts.

Akira stepped away from the window and turned around. "I should get going."

"Good luck, Akira." Toya Meijin said.

Akira bowed his head. "Thank you father." Akira left the room and headed for the Go salon.

"Aren't you going as well?" Ogata asked.

"No. Akira can handle this by himself. I'll just leave it to him."

The reporters blocked the path for Shuichi and K. Shuichi was busy smiling and waiving at the huge crowd while K was pushing back the reporters to make a path.

It took them a few minutes to make it inside the building where they were met by more reporters, this time though it was a smaller crowd compared to the one outside. They began taking pictures of the famous pop star almost immediately after he entered. Shuichi smiled and waved then he said under his breath to K, "What are they doing here?"

"I already told you. There will be reporters present during your first Go lesson, but only a select few are allowed to observe."

"You mean I have to have the whole world watching me?" Shuichi cringed at the thought. "They're going to distract me."

"I guess you really weren't paying attention during that meeting." K said unsurprised. Just then Akira appeared from around the corner. K was the first to spot him. "Don't worry, Shuichi, the reporters already know that they have to keep their distance from you during your lesson."

"Good morning." Akira had made his way over to Shuichi and K. The cameras clicked wildly to capture every moment of Shindo Shuichi of Bad Luck with his Go instructor Toya Akira.

"Good morning." K and Shuichi responded.

"So Mr. Toya, are you nervous about teaching such a famous student?" One of the reporters shouted out.

"I am actually looking forward to our lesson this morning." Akira responded.

"And you Mr. Shindo? How are you feeling today?" Another reporter asked.

"I feel great today and I am very excited to start learning Go from such an accomplished player."

"Shall we go?" Akira asked Shuichi.

Shuichi nodded and Akira began to lead Shuichi down the hall to the Go salon but not before the reporters jumped in front of them. They walked backwards taking several pictures of the two as they moved down the hall. The door slid open to the Go salon and the reporters moved in and took up positions off to the side to take pictures of Akira and Shuichi entering the salon.

Ichikawa watched from behind the counter. "Good morning, Akira." She said cheerfully to her favorite Go player. She noticed the other young man with him. Once she recognized who he was, shock overtook her cheerfulness. Shuichi smiled at her.

"Good morning. I'm Shindo Shuichi."

"Um, yes. It's very nice to meet you. I-I'm Ichikawa Harumi."

"This way Mr. Shindo." Akira led the way to the table and Go board they were intending to use. Ichikawa's eyes never left Shuichi as he walked by.

_That must be the important person Toya Meijin told me was coming today._

They entered the room adjacent to where Ichikawa was stationed. They took the last table in that room. It was the same table that Akira and Hikaru sat at when they first met and played their first game together. The room was empty with the exception of the two of them. The rest of the Go salon was filled with regulars and not so regular customers who were lucky to get in just to see Shindo Shuichi. The Go salon only allowed in as many people as the place had chairs. The media were instructed to remain outside of that particular room so as not to disturb Shuichi's lesson.

"This is my first time in a Go salon."

"Really? Well, I guess it's not too surprising you being a singer and all."

Shuichi took a quick look around. "It's not what I expected it to look like in here."

Akira motioned for Shuichi to take his seat. "I'm curious to know what you imagined it to be like."

Shuichi pulled out his chair, smiled then scratched his head. "Actually, I couldn't really tell you what I thought." Shuichi sat down. "Just not this."

Akira didn't have a response for Shuichi. He just sat down across from his new Go student and began to open the two container lids which held the black and white stones. _What an interesting person Shindo Shuichi is. _Akira placed the bowl with the black stones on the table by Shuichi and the bowl with the white stones he placed it on the table by himself. "Well then, shall we get started?"

* * *

Hikaru and Ryuichi walked up the stairs from the subway station and were met with a wall of people. Hikaru looked at the crowd in amazement. "Don't tell me they're all here to see Shuichi?" Hikaru tried jumping up and down to look over the shoulders of the adults blocking his way, but all he found were more people. He stopped jumping up and down and began looking around for any kind of way through. Hikaru spotted a small opening. "Over here." He went ahead of Ryuichi. "Come on. This way." Hikaru called out. He was about to head into the crowd when Ryuichi grabbed hold of Hikaru's hand. Hikaru looked back at Ryuichi to protest but he was immediately shut down when he saw the smile across his face. "So we don't get separated." Ryuichi said in his rare, serious tone. He was wearing his sunglasses and baseball cap to ensure no one else recognized him.

Hikaru hesitantly agreed. He squeezed tightly and began leading Ryuichi through the crowd. He began to work his way through finding the small openings that would allow him and Ryuichi access to their final destination.

"This is fun!" Ryuichi called out to Hikaru.

"You find this fun? Running into people, getting people to move unwillingly; I'd say it's more of a hassle than fun."

"But it's just like playing hide and seek! Shuichi and Akira are hiding and we're trying to find them! Where are you Shuichi!" Ryuichi called out. "Aki….."

"Shhh!" Hikaru stopped and faced Ryuichi. "Keep it down. I don't want to draw attention to ourselves, especially you."

"Me?" Ryuichi pointed at himself unaware of what Hikaru was referring to.

"Yes, you!" Hikaru yelled while whispering.

"What did I do?" Ryuichi though to himself for a moment while tapping his finger on his chin. "Oh! I get it!" Ryuichi said loudly.

"SHHHHH!"

"We're trying to sneak up on Shuichi and Akira to surprise them so we have to be quiet." Ryuichi whispered to Hikaru.

_What? _Hikaru was trying to figure out how to explain that the reason they had to stay quiet was because if the crowd discovered that Sakuma Ryuichi was right here in the middle of them, he didn't think either of them would survive the mass hysteria that would ensue.

Before last night, Hikaru never knew how important Sakuma Ryuichi was, not only to his cousin but to the rest of Japan and the world. Shuichi was slowly introducing a whole new world to the young Go player.

* * *

"That's the guy that was at Akira's house that night, wasn't it?"

"Yep. Sakuma Ryuichi. The best singer and performer to ever exist in this world." Shuichi marveled at the TV screen. "I hope to be just as good as him someday."

"Is he popular?"

Shuichi couldn't believe his ears. His face grew pale and he looked at his cousin with the utmost disbelief. "Please tell me you're joking." Shuichi asked quietly.

Hikaru caught Shuichi's ghost-like expression. "A-re you ok?"

Shuichi grabbed Hikaru's shoulders. "Just answer me. You do know who Sakuma Ryuichi is, don't you?"

"He's the guy who brought us beer and snacks at Akira's."

Shuichi's head dropped. "I feel faint."

"What's wrong?"

Shuichi lifted his head revealing that the color had come back to his face, but a much angrier Shuichi was now looking into Hikaru's eyes this time. "HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW WHO SAKUMA RYUICHI IS?" Shuichi yelled.

"Well…"

"He's the greatest person to ever exist in this world! The one I look up to! He's my God! The music he creates is beyond what anyone else can create. When I first laid eyes on him, I instantly knew that I had to be just like him. So I strived and strived and now….."

"All right! All right! I get it! You really like him. Geez."

"No you don't. You don't even know who he is."

"Well I'm sorry if I'm not familiar with singers. I can't keep track of them all. Music is your thing not mine."

"Oh, Hikaru, it hurts me so to hear you speak like that."

"Is this the real reason you invited me over or am I going to help you with Go?"

"I just thought a little encouragement would be good to start."

* * *

"You look up to this guy, Shuichi?" Hikaru said to himself.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. Come on. Let's see if we can get through this quickly." Hikaru took Ryuichi's hand and began pulling him through the crowd, this time with more speed. As they went they began hearing some of the conversations people were having.

"I can't wait until Shuichi comes back out."

"I want his picture so bad."

"I hope I get a chance to meet him."

"Shuichi is the absolute best."

After hearing that last comment, Hikaru stopped and listened to the rest.

"…no one can compare to him. His music is just amazing and his voice is so beautiful."

Hikaru listened as his cousin was being praised by total strangers. _This is what he's always wanted._

"Shuichi's an amazing person, isn't he?" Ryuichi said behind Hikaru. Hikaru turned to see that serious expression on his face once again but this time with a gentle smile. Hikaru returned the smile.

"Yeah, he is." _Praise from his idol. I wonder if Shuichi knows what Ryuichi thinks of him._

Hikaru turned back around and continued weaving his way with Ryuichi through the crowd.

They were able to make it to the front but were met by barricades blocking their way.

"Now how are we supposed to get in?" Ryuichi whined like a five year old, clutching Kumagoro.

Hikaru looked around. It was definitely impossible to enter through the front.

_...what about that way? It's a long shot, but… _Hikaru looked toward the street looking for a path out of the sea of people they were in. "Don't worry, we'll get in. Come with me." Hikaru took Ryuichi's hand once again and led him through tightly grouped people to make it out into the street. They emerged from the crowd and walked along the perimeter of the huge group. Because of the large number of people, the police were directing traffic around the crowd as well as trying to clear the street of people to let traffic through, although it wasn't working too well.

It took Hikaru and Ryuichi about five minutes to make it around the huge crowd and onto the sidewalk next to the building that housed the Go salon. Hikaru stopped to catch his breath.

"Man that was rough." Hikaru looked back at the crowd. "That's probably nothing new to you is it?"

"I've been through worse, but this is the first time anyone has held my hand for this long."

Hikaru didn't realize that he was still holding Ryuichi's hand until it was pointed out to him. Embarrassed, Hikaru quickly retracted his hand from Ryuichi's. "Sorry." He said as he looked away.

Ryuichi chuckled. "You're funny."

The whole situation was awkward to Hikaru. He couldn't believe he actually led around this person who was twice his age not to mention the way he acted. How can a person who acted like this be as famous as Shuichi said he was? Nothing was making any sense to him. This guy made no sense to him. He's clearly an adult but he acts like a five year old. As much as Hikaru wanted to ask Ryuichi he knew that now wasn't the time. He and Ryuichi needed to get into the building somehow and just as he looked ahead of him the solution to his problem was answered….maybe.

"I think we may have found our way in." Hikaru ran ahead.

"Wait for me!" Ryuichi ran after Hikaru.

"Wait!" Hikaru yelled as he ran down the sidewalk. He abruptly stopped and tried to catch his breath. "Can you let us in?"

"Shindo. I should've known you would show up. I'm surprised you're not in there now." Ogata stared at Hikaru.

"I would be but they aren't letting people in out front."

Ogata looked past Hikaru. "I'm glad they aren't. This whole thing has turned into a circus. I'll be very happy when it's over." Ogata continued walking towards the door at the side of the building.

"Wait, Ogata can you let us in with you?"

"Us?" Ogata finally noticed the person standing behind Hikaru who was wearing the baseball cap and sunglasses. His eyes narrowed in suspicion at him. "Who's that?" Ogata asked bluntly.

"He's, uh, a friend. We came to watch Shuichi and Aki, I mean Toya play Go."

"Well, you came here for nothing."

"What do you mean?"

Ogata unlocked the door and opened it. "They're not letting anyone else into the salon. It's full."

"But I want to see Shuichi and Akira." Ryuichi objected in his child-like persona.

"Even if you did get in you wouldn't be allowed near them." Ogata saw the same question cross both of their faces. "A part of the salon was reserved for them to keep away any distractions."

"That's ok." Hikaru responded. "We just want to watch even if it's from far away."

"Yeah." Ryuichi agreed. "We won't get in the way."

Ogata looked at the two in front of him. They were looking at him with desperation. "I guess you would want to know how your cousin is doing."

"Don't forget Akira." Ryuichi blurted out.

Ogata looked at Ryuichi with more suspicion.

"Fine, I'll let you in."

Hikaru and Ryuichi smiled.

"I wouldn't want to be part of that media spectacle." Ogata let Hikaru and Ryuichi through the door. He shut the door and locked it behind him.

"Wait a minute" Hikaru stopped. "If the salon is full, they're not going to let us in are they?"

"Don't be silly. Just tell Ichikawa that I am letting you use my table. I have one on reserve."

* * *

"So if black goes here, white will be in atari." Akira placed the black stone in its respective spot. "For white to survive, you would have to play here." Akira then placed the white stone on the board in its respective place. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I do. So the point of Go is to capture stones?"

"It's not the entire goal of the game. Seeing who can gain more territory over their opponent is your ultimate goal." Akira cleared the board. "Let's try some simple problem solving." Akira placed the black and white stones on the board in a specific pattern. "There is one move that you can make that will save black. Place the black stone on the board where you think will stop white."

Akira watched as Shuichi studied the board carefully. Shuichi was actually taking this quite seriously. He was expecting the opposite after what Hikaru had told him and after what he had witnessed himself. _'Shuichi barely realizes Go exists'. _Akira really didn't know what to expect from Shuichi, then again K is right outside this room. He could be playing a vital role in how he's behaving.

Akira watched as Shuichi picked up one of the black stones from the bowl. He placed it in between his fingers just like any pro would do. _He certainly is a fast learner. _He stopped his hand over the board taking one last look, and then he placed his stone next to a white stone.

"You're doing quite well Shuichi. I'm amazed at how quickly you're picking up the game."

Shuichi laughed nervously. "I guess I'm just naturally talented."

"Yes." Curious about Shuichi's 'natural talent' that he had huge misgivings about, he decided to test him. "Let's try another problem." Akira rearranged the stones. "Black is in trouble of losing all of its stones. There is a move you can make to save them. Where would black move?" Akira watched again as Shuichi picked up a black stone in between his fore finger and middle finger. He studied the board, and then he placed it on the board. _That confirms it! _Akira just stared at the board without saying a word.

"Um, Akira? Am I right?" Shuichi waited for Akira to respond which seemed like forever. Akira raised his eyes to meet Shuichi's.

"Yes, you are correct."

Shuichi smiled in satisfaction.

"I'm wondering if this is a Shindo-style of play."

"What do you mean?"

"Well in both instances you solved each problem the way Hikaru would."

"How would you know that?"

"I know how Hikaru plays Go; how he thinks; his style of play. I know his game inside and out."

Shuichi lowered his head. "I guess there's no fooling you." He raised his head and looked at Akira. "I had Hikaru teach me a few things about Go before I came here today. I just wanted to be familiar with the game than going into it not knowing anything."

"I see. So he helped you?"

"You're not mad are you?"

"Why would I be? I just found it interesting that your playing style is similar to Hikaru's."

Shuichi caught the slight smile on Akira's face. "You want to play him." Akira realized he was zoning out. "Am I right?"

"N-no. You are my student. I am here to teach you." Akira said removing the smile from his lips. "I can play Hikaru anytime."

"That's not what he said."

"What are you talking about?"

"When I saw Hikaru last night, he told me it would be a while before the two of you had anytime to spend together. I guess the world of Go has its similarities to the entertainment world."

"How so?" Akira asked curious to hear what his line of reasoning is.

"They're both very demanding and time consuming."

"I can certainly agree with that."

Shuichi saw once again that far off look. Hikaru had that same look in his eyes just last night.

* * *

"….when this happens it's called double atari. Now, if that happens…." He looked up from the board at Shuichi. Hikaru immediately jumped up off the floor, slamming his hands on the coffee table. He glared at Shuichi but Shuichi just looked back with an expression that said, 'why'd you do that for'.

"You're not paying attention!" Hikaru yelled.

"I am paying attention." Shuichi responded normally. That made Hikaru angrier.

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am."

"What did I just say?"

"You started talking about double atari. Hey, do you want to take a break and play video games?"

Hikaru restrained himself from exploding. "We already had a break watching that video with Sakama Ryuichi."

"Sakuma Ryuichi." Shuichi corrected.

"Whatever!"

Shuichi observed his cousin. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Hikaru slowly sat back down on the floor opposite Shuichi.

"I don't know. You just seem more agitated than usual."

Hikaru glared at his Shuichi. "Maybe it's because you're not listening to me."

Shuichi picked up a white stone and placed it on the board. "These two stones are captured right?"

"Yeah." Hikaru stared at the board in disbelief. _He actually was paying attention. Why does he have to make everything so difficult then?_

"Are you going to tell me?"

"What?"

"Why you're so down? You and Akira didn't get into a fight did you?"

"What!? No!"

"Well that's good." Shuichi noticed the small reaction Hikaru made when he mentioned Akira's name. "Then what?"

Hikaru didn't answer right away. He stared off into space.

"You miss Akira."

That got Hikaru back to reality.

"Don't you?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, I know how you feel." Shuichi went into a dream state. "I miss Yuki."

"Didn't you see him this morning?"

"Yes, and I probably won't see him until later tonight. That's just too long for me. I wish I never had to be parted from him. But I know that isn't going to happen so I have to just accept it and so should you. Being apart means your relationship will grow and you'll want to be with each other more and…." Shuichi stopped babbling when he saw how down Hikaru looked.

"At least it's only hours."

"Come on." Shuichi smiled trying to cheer up Hikaru. "You act like it's going to be weeks before you see Akira again."

"It might be. I have a better chance of seeing him during a scheduled match than in our free time. And scheduled matches take months to happen."

"You're exaggerating." Shuichi kept the motivation up. "It's just a board game…."

"To you it's just a board game!" Hikaru defended himself. "But to Akira and I and the rest who play Go professionally it's a passion. It's what we do for a living. We work hard each and every day perfecting our game, not knowing who the next challenger will be. We need to be prepared. It takes a lot of time and commitment. Any free time we have is mostly used for studying or teaching. Akira does a lot of that."

"Studying or teaching?"

"Both. And with the addition of you…."

* * *

_This is the time Hikaru and I would meet and play Go. Since I had to take Shindo Shuichi on as a student that was the only time I could use to accommodate these teaching sessions. _Akira began clearing the board to set up for the next lesson.

In the background the media took their pictures and asked questions of Ichikawa about Akira. K kept a close eye on the media, Ichikawa as well as Shuichi and Akira. K stopped the questions since some of the questions were getting too personal. As he was pushing the reporters back the door to the Go salon opened and in stepped Ogata, Hikaru and Ryuichi who was still wearing his sunglasses.

"Oh, Hikaru. How did you get in? I heard that it's impossible to get in through the front door." Ichikawa asked not expecting any more customers.

"Ogata let us in."

"Did he? Well if you're looking for Akira he's a little busy at the moment. He's teaching Shindo Shuichi. Do you know who that is?"

_Yeah, he's my cousin. _Hikaru thought but so wanted to say out loud. Before he could answer her Ichikawa answered her own question.

"He's a famous singer. To think I got to meet Shindo Shuichi." Ichikawa said excitedly.

"That's great." Hikaru said apathetically.

Ichikawa just noticed that Hikaru wasn't alone. "And who's this?"

"A friend. So Ogata said that we could use his table. Can you tell me where it is?"

"Oh, just go up the stairs and to your left. When you turn the next corner you'll see the empty table; which also means you get a good view of Akira teaching Mr. Shindo."

"Thanks." Hikaru looked back at Ryuichi and motioned for him to follow.

They began to walk past the reporters as casually as they could. They also passed by K. He of course noticed them and gave them a warning look. Once they passed by they went up the steps and turned to the left. While they walked Hikaru looked over to see if he was able to catch a glimpse of Shuichi or Akira but the plants that ran along the wall were in the way. They turned another corner and found the empty table. Ryuichi sat first. Hikaru was now able to look over the plants and he caught the first sight of his cousin and Akira playing Go. He watched them. He couldn't hear anything that was being said between the two but he could clearly see Akira teaching Shuichi. He smiled. _They're sitting at the same table Akira and I did when we first met. _"I wonder if Akira told Shuichi that." Hikaru said under his breath.

"What did you say?" Ryuichi asked.

"Nothing." Hikaru finally sat down across from Ryuichi who was grinning.

"What?"

"I can't wait to learn then we can all play together."

Hikaru began to explain to Ryuichi the very basics of Go. He showed him the black and white stones and where they are placed on the Go board. "They go here where the lines intersect not in the small boxes." He also showed him the proper way to hold a Go stone. Ryuichi began to practice holding the white Go stone in between his middle finger and fore finger. "It takes some getting used to so take your time."

Hikaru went on to show Ryuichi how to properly place the Go stones on the board. He played a few moves just to demonstrate. Ryuichi watched with great interest. He made sure he didn't miss a thing Hikaru said or did. "The object of the game is to gain more territory over your opponent and you do that by the various shapes that are created by the placement of the stones but you don't really need to worry about that now."

Hikaru couldn't help it. His attention wandered away from Ryuichi who was practicing placing the stones on the board over to Akira and Shuichi down below. He wanted nothing more than to be sitting in the chair Shuichi was in right now. He wanted to play Go with Akira. He couldn't remember the last time they sat down together and played a game and he missed it. He loved the rush he got when he played against Akira. His passion of the game was at its fullest when they played together. They understood each other so well that they didn't even have to speak to one another. Of course there were the arguments but that was part of the passion. He wondered when he would be able to experience those feelings again. Not only did he miss the thrill of playing against his rival, he missed Akira. _I know I just saw him two days ago but it feels longer than that. Could I have the same feeling for Akira that Shuichi has for Yuki?_

Turning back to Ryuichi, Hikaru jumped at the sight of the Go board he was sitting in front of. There on the board Ryuichi had made the face of a bunny out of the black and white Go stones. They were placed exactly where Hikaru had explained to Ryuichi moments before where they should be placed.

"What do you think?" Ryuichi asked. "I made a Kumagoro face! Cool, huh?"

"This isn't what I meant by creating shapes." Hikaru said feeling a little embarrassed for Ryuichi.

"And I made a small heart too, see?" Ryuichi pointed it out to Hikaru.

"That's great." _This is going to be more difficult than I thought._

Ryuichi smiled. "You make something now."

"That's not how you play Go." Hikaru tried explaining.

* * *

"I'm beginning to think that you're not serious about each other." Shuichi said as he placed his black stone onto the board.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, it seems as though you're making excuses not to see each other."

"How so?"

"I've heard the same thing from Hikaru that you're 'too busy'. No one can be that busy."

Akira kept his eyes on the board. "Go is very demanding."

"So is show business but I always manage to make time for Yuki. If I didn't I think I'd go crazy. We wouldn't be where we are right now."

Akira placed a white stone on the board then he picked up a black stone and held it.

"Let me ask you, do you love Hikaru?"

Akira stopped his hand over the Go board. _Love? _He didn't expect this question from Shuichi. He composed himself and placed his white stone on the board. "I've created a life or death situation for your stones. Your next move will determine what happens. Don't be rash."

"Avoiding the question?"

"I'm teaching you right now."

"If I get this right will you answer my question?"

Akira didn't speak immediately. "This is a rather hard solution to get. I doubt Hikaru even showed you something like this." Akira thought for a moment. "Fine. I will answer your question only if you solve this correctly."

Shuichi studied the board. He really had no idea where to place the stone. He wanted to know the answer to his question. It was a gamble but…. Shuichi picked up a black stone and placed it on the board.

"That isn't the correct place to move to save your stones. If you move here" Akira moved the stone a couple of spaces over "you would save your territory."

_Dammit!_

Akira began clearing the board once again.

"Perhaps I was wrong about you."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't seem to be serious about Hikaru."

"Of course I am."

"How? As a rival Go player? Hikaru is my little cousin and right now he is very conflicted. You as well. You just seem hesitant to take things further by making excuses for why you can't see each other. If you really cared for each other you would find a way.

"I know what it's like to have a dream you want to follow, but just know that it's ok to pursue your dreams and have that special someone by your side." Shuichi paused for a moment to let that sink into Akira. "I don't want to see Hikaru get hurt and if you're 'serious' as you just said then I am sure you can find a way to make it happen."

Akira stared at the board. He was silent and didn't move for quite a while. "This is a little bit easier than the problem I had you solve before. Place your black stone where you think it will save your stones on the board."

* * *

Shuichi and Akira stood in front of the media while they snapped more pictures of them together. "How was your first lesion Mr. Shindo?"

"I really enjoyed myself. The game is quite challenging but I'm lucky to have such a good teacher."

"How did he do Mr. Toya?"

"He picked up the basics quite easily. He got one or two problems wrong but that's how you learn."

The media people laughed.

"Will you be taking more lessons, Mr. Shindo?"

"Yes I will and I look forward to it."

"I think it's time to finish up." K stepped in between the media, Shuichi and Akira.

"When will be your next Go lesson?"

"That hasn't been determined at this time." K answered.

"We look forward to it." One of the photographers said. One by one they gathered their things and walked out of the Go salon. Shuichi heaved a big sigh. As he opened his eyes he saw a swarm of people approaching him. It was his fans that had gotten into the Go salon and had been seated in wait for this time when they could glomp him.

Instinctively, he hid behind Akira. "Shindo?" Akira finally noticed the crowd coming towards him. He tightly shut his eyes and prepared himself in anticipation of being knocked over by the people who wanted to see Shindo Shuichi so very badly but nothing happened. Akira slowly opened his eyes only to find K standing in front of him.

"I believe it's time for all of you to go home."

"But I want Shindo's autograph." A fan whined

"Me too!" Someone else agreed.

"Not today." K said.

"We'll see about that." Another said.

The fans began to move forward when K took out his gun and pointed at them. They all froze in terror. He cocked his gun. Fear ran through the crowd. All thoughts about getting Shuichi's autograph were completely gone. They all ran for the exit leaving K, Shuichi, Akira, Ichikawa and the few regulars in the salon.

"You're safe now Shuichi."

"Thanks K."

K caught Ichikawa's horrified expression. He quickly holstered his weapon and smiled at her. "Don't worry. It's just used to scare them off." K lied but it did calm her down a bit.

"Shuichi!"

Shuichi turned only to find someone wrapping his arms around him and hugging him tightly. ÁHHHH!" At first he thought it was an overly obsessive fan.

"I've missed you!"

"Ryuichi?"

"Yep. You guessed it! Akira! Hi!" Ryuichi unglued himself from Shuichi and hugged Akira.

"H-hello, Ryuichi." Akira smiled somewhat embarrassed by the public display of affection he was receiving.

Ichikawa was somewhat surprised by all of this attention on Akira. She wasn't sure what to think of Ryuichi hanging all over him.

"You certainly are popular now aren't you Toya Sensei?" One of the regular visitors of the Go salon asked. Akira just smiled.

Hikaru made his way slowly down the steps.

"We should get going Shuichi. Ryuichi you need to come too."

"No, I want to stay with Akira."

"I'm sorry Ryuichi but I have another teaching session in a little while."

"Oh, no fair. At least I got to play with Hikaru for a while." Everyone just noticed Hikaru's presence. He'd been so quiet no one realized he was standing there. Akira and Hikaru's eyes met for a fleeting moment but Hikaru looked away.

"Come on Shuichi. You have some work to do as well. We'll have to take the back way out since we have Ryuichi with us. I don't want to cause any other media speculations as to why you're here." K led Shuichi and Ryuichi out of the Salon.

"I have never seen anything like that before." One regular commented.

"What was it like Akira?" Ichikawa asked. "Teaching Shindo Shuichi?"

"He's just like any other person who wants to learn Go."

"Well that's kinda boring. Did you learn anything about him?" Ichikawa continued to pry.

"We just concentrated on the lesson."

Disappointed, Ichikawa stopped her interrogation.

Akira turned to Hikaru. He still stood in the same spot looking depressed. He wanted to say something to him but nothing came to him. He could think of no words that would comfort him. Finally he gave up. "I must be going, now."

That made Hikaru look at Akira. He was about to say something to stop him but he stopped at the last moment.

"See you soon." Ichikawa said.

Akira left leaving Hikaru standing by himself in the Go salon.

* * *

"You should just leave those two alone." K said as he was driving.

"I know I should but I can't. One more push and I'm sure they'll finally, really be together. You should have seen him K. I've never seen him look so down before."

K looked through the rear view mirror at the vocalist of Bad Luck. He was looking out the window at nothing in particular. Shuichi was looking down himself. K knew he had to do something. Shuichi was right but he couldn't admit it to him. Shuichi would try to fix everything himself and K knew he would end up making things worse. "Don't worry about it Shuichi. Hikaru will be fine." Shuichi continued to stare out the window.

* * *

"Stupid K." Hikaru muttered under his breath. "I have better things I can be doing right now than waiting for him here." Hikaru looked at the time outside the window. It was 6:46pm. Hikaru had received a phone call from K earlier in the afternoon to meet him at this restaurant. They were supposed to meet at 6:15pm. K was uncharacteristically late. Hikaru had taken a seat and ordered French fries to munch on. He was getting quite impatient. _If he doesn't show up by 7:00pm I'm leaving._

"Hikaru?"

Hikaru looked up. To his surprise he found Akira standing next to where he was sitting.

"A-Akira? What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

"K called me out here. I was supposed to meet him half an hour ago but he's still not here."

"That's quite unlike him."

"I know. What about you?"

"I was going to a teaching session tonight but when I got there they had to cancel. I was on my way back when I saw you sitting here."

"You can sit and wait with me, if you have time that is."

"I have time." Akira took the booth seat opposite Hikaru.

"Want some fries?" Hikaru pushed the plate towards the middle of the table.

"Thank you but I already ate."

Silence brewed between them and it was starting to get awkward. Akira was about to say something to break the silence but he didn't get out a sound.

"Good, I'm glad to see the two of you here."

Akira and Hikaru looked up to see K standing over them.

"Do you know how long I've waited for you? Over thirty minutes." Hikaru said angrily.

"Sorry, I had some business to take care of that took longer than I anticipated."

"You could've called." Hikaru crossed his arms.

"Well I'm here now and that's what matters."

["I'm glad you're here as well Akira. You've saved me the trouble of finding you."] K spoke the last sentence in English.

Akira snapped his head up at K.

["Move over."]

Akira slid down allowing room for K to sit.

["I'm glad you understand."]

["I understand quite well."] Akira replied in English.

Hikaru looked over at the two of them. He had quite a perplexed look.

["I take it he doesn't understand what we're saying?"] K looked at Hikaru while he spoke.

"It doesn't look like it." Akira responded.

"Um, what are you guys saying?"

["Good. This will make things easy for me. I need you to do something, Akira."]

["What would that be?"]

"Ok, you guys are starting to annoy me. Stop talking in English." Hikaru complained.

"Oh, so you know we're speaking English?" K looked surprised.

"Yes, I recognize some of the words you're saying from my English class. I'm not dumb!"

["I'm sure you've notice how depressed Hikaru has been lately."] K ignored Hikaru and continued his conversation in English with Akira.

Akira didn't respond.

"Hello!" Hikaru kept trying to get K and Akira to stop speaking in English and stop ignoring him.

["How about taking him out on a date?"]

["What?"]

["The two of you haven't gone out and had fun in a while. Why don't you?"]

The thought of spending time with Hikaru made his heart jump, but as quickly as the thought came it left with the reality of their lives.

["You know I can't."]

["Now, now, don't be so pessimistic. You can make some concessions. It'll be good for you and Hikaru."]

["But my responsibilities…."]

["Akira, everyone has responsibilities, but there are times when you have to take a break and enjoy yourself. Hikaru knows how busy you are."]

"What are you saying about me? I heard my name. Akira, tell me what he said?" Hikaru continued prying.

["He is too, but he also want to spend time with you."]

Akira thought about what K was saying and also back to what Shuichi had said to him earlier that day. _'…it's ok to pursue your dreams and have that special someone by your side.'_ It made sense and they were right. _I want to get closer to Hikaru. _

["He's no good to me depressed."]

["Is that what this is all about? If Hikaru's depressed you won't be able to use him however you want?"]

"Stop talking about me!"

["You'll be no good either."]

Akira was about to protest but K cut him off.

["If he's that important, then you should let him know now. You could lose him if you're not careful."] K stood up. ["I'll leave you for now. Don't waste this time I gave you."]

_'Don't waste this time I gave you?' _["You didn't do anything…."]

["It's best if you don't know."] K walked away.

"What did he say? Akira?" Hikaru wanted answers desperately.

"Nothing." Akira responded.

"Nothing? I don't buy that. You were speaking to K in English and I heard my name."

"Just drop it Hikaru."

"Hey, wait. He called me out here and said nothing to me. Oh that pisses me off." Hikaru rested his head on his hand and stared angrily out the window.

* * *

Akira and Hikaru walked down the street until they had to part ways. Hikaru kept complaining about K while Akira thought about his conversation with K. His hands were getting cold so he placed his hands inside his pockets. In one of them he felt something. An envelope that wasn't there before he came to the restaurant. He pulled it out and opened it. Hikaru was still busy harping on K making him wait and then hardly saying anything to him.

Akira opened the envelope. What he found were two tickets. He read the tickets: _Odaiba Amusement Park. _

_ Did K put these in my pocket? An amusement park is not really my thing but I wonder if Hikaru…._

"…don't you agree, Akira?"

"Hm? I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Akira said while looking at the tickets.

"Great, now you're ignoring me…."

"Hikaru?" Akira interrupted Hikaru's rant. "What do you think of amusement parks?"

"They're fun. I absolutely love them. Of course I haven't been to one in a long time."

"I thought so."

"What was that?"

"Hikaru" Akira stopped walking. When Hikaru noticed he stopped as well. "would you like to go to one?"

"What? Really?"

"Yes."

"Will you be going?"

"I wouldn't be asking you to go if I wasn't going."

"I would love to go, but tickets just to get in are really expensive."

"Don't worry, I have the tickets." Akira held up the tickets. Hikaru's eyes grew wide in surprise then he turned excited.

"Really? Wow, how did you get them?"

"A friend didn't need them so he gave them to me."

"Oh, gosh this is fantastic! Akira, thank you."

Hearing that 'thank you' from Hikaru and the excitement made him happy. _I made Hikaru smile._

"But are you sure?" Hikaru became concerned.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I really can't picture you at an amusement park."

The thoughtless comment Hikaru just made forced Akira to restrain himself from yelling at Hikaru. "You're missing the whole point." He said between gritted teeth. "As long as you're there everything will be fine."

Finally Hikaru understood. _Akira just wants me to be happy. _Hikaru smiled. "I can't wait to go." He said cheerfully.

Akira saw the gleam in his eyes.

"I hope we can go soon."

"I'll free up one of my Sunday's so we can go."

Their eyes locked and they were lost to each other. Without thinking Akira leaned in to kiss Hikaru but a car drove by and he stopped. Instead he leaned up against Hikaru's ear and whispered to him. Hikaru's eyes grew wide in disbelief at what he just heard.

Akira slowly moved away from Hikaru and faced the opposite direction. Akira crossed the street leaving Hikaru by himself. The shock of what he just heard kept him frozen in that spot for several minutes. Once he was able to move he turned and walked down the street to the train station to go home.

* * *

Hikaru played that moment over and over in his head:

_Akira leaned in and placed his lips close to his ear. He felt his warm breath gently brush his ear and then, "Hikaru, I like you"._


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Tatsuha & Hikaru's Jealousy**

"So I take it your dad's home?" Hikaru raised the orange and blue jacket to eye level. "How long has he been gone this time?" Hikaru yelled out still studying the rather brightly colored coat.

"Two months." Shuichi yelled from upstairs.

"Well, that's shorter than usual."

"What?"

"Where is he anyway?" Hikaru spoke up while looking around from where he was standing.

"I don't know. I thought he would be here resting but I guess he's out."

"And he forgot his favorite jacket?" Hikaru said surprised.

"He has a new one." Shuichi said as he came walking down the stairs.

"Tell me it's not…."

"…orange." Both Shuichi and Hikaru said in unison.

Hikaru rolled his eyes and dropped the jacket onto the nearby chair.

"It's his favorite color." Shuichi said.

"Yeah, but that's just too bright. Is his new one just as bright?"

"Yep."

Hikaru sighed. "So where did he go this time?"

"Oh, you know my dad. We have to be hush, hush about work."

"Geez, you'd think he was a spy or something…..wait…..is he?" Hikaru looked suspiciously at his cousin.

"Noooo! Don't be silly….at least….I don't think he is…." Shuichi thought for a moment. "But that would be cool!" Shuichi laughed.

"Anyway, did you find what you were looking for?" Hikaru changed the subject.

"Yep!" Shuichi held up a big box of strawberry pocky.

"That's what we came all the way over here for? Strawberry pocky?"

"Maiko stole it from me and I really wanted some." Shuichi whined.

"We passed by how many convenience stores along the way?" Hikaru said annoyed.

"I also wanted to see my father." Shuichi shot back. "Hopefully this time he'll be around long enough for me to see him not to mention for him to be able to come to one of my concerts."

"He's never been to one of your concerts?" Hikaru asked surprised.

"Not yet. His work makes him travel so much it's hard for him to find the time. He's seen me on TV a few times."

"Do you have a concert coming up soon?" Shuichi began to open the box of strawberry pocky.

"Yep. Next week in fact. Want one?" Shuichi offered Hikaru after taking one for himself.

"Sure." Hikaru reached into the box and pulled one stick out and began eating it. "Are you going to wait until your father comes back?"

"I really can't. I have to get ready for my Go lesson today and you're" Shuichi put his arm around Hikaru's shoulders "supposed to give me some pointers!"

"The whole point of you taking lessons from Akira is to learn from him not me." Hikaru studied his cousin. "I'm surprised."

"What do you mean?"

"You'd do anything to get away from those lessons to the point where K has to chase you around the city and then drags you in by gunpoint. Now, you've become more…cooperative." Hikaru looked at his cousin with suspicion.

"What, I can't like Go?"

"You despise Go!" Hikaru raised his voice. "Lately, you seem to be almost looking forward to your lessons with Akira!"

Shuichi flinched and turned away from Hikaru.

"I'm right aren't I?" A realization hit Hikaru. "Is this why you've been asking me for pointers before your lessons? To impress Akira?" Anger began to well up inside Hikaru. "I can't believe this! Everything I've done for you and this is how you repay me!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You wanting to be with Akira!" Hikaru yelled.

"I don't want to be with Akira. Well, I mean he's a nice guy and all but you should already know that the only one for me is Yuki. Even if I wanted to be with Akira, I'm sure he'd reject me. All he talks about is you and how much he can't wait to play Go with you."

"Then why do you want me to teach you before your lessons with Akira?" Hikaru asked skeptically.

"Because you're helping me improve my relationship with Yuki."

"How?"

"Well, you see, I think Yuki is impressed that I'm learning such a complicated game. I think he respects me more and even loves me more. I have to keep going for him."

"Has he seen any of your teaching games?"

"He's snuck in a couple of times. I guess he was curious. He's even played against me."

"Did you beat him?"

"No but he was still impressed. Go has really changed things between us. Even in bed Yuki's become more passionate the way he touc…"

"NO! NO! NO! STOP!" Hikaru waved his hands violently in front of him for Shuichi to stop talking. "I don't want to hear it! We agreed we wouldn't talk about…that!"

"We did? When did we agree to this?"

"I'm making this rule right now!"

"Come on Hikaru. Don't be so embarrassed. I'll listen to you if you talk about…"  
"I have nothing I want to talk to you about!" Hikaru turned to leave the room. "Besides, it's none of your business!" .

"What do you mean 'none of my business'? Unless, you and Akira haven't….."

"AHHHHH! I'm not listening!" Hikaru covered his ears as he hastily exited the room.

"Hikaru! Come back!"

Hikaru remained in a foul mood for the rest of the day. Shuichi was unable to get Hikaru to teach him anything new much less anything at all before his lesson with Toya Akira.

Much to the surprise of everyone who knew him, Yuki was in attendance at the Go salon. He remained inconspicuous hiding off in a corner. No one knew exactly why he was there and no one had the guts to ask him.

Hikaru sat at one of the tables just up the steps after entering the Go salon. He didn't care much for watching Akira & Shuichi today. He sat at the table by himself replaying games on the board in front of him. There weren't as many news reporters here as there were during their first lesson. It looked like the media attention was dying down. It had been a month since Shuichi started his lessons and now he was enjoying them just to get him and Yuki closer.

Images of Yuki and Shuichi began running through his mind. _'Oh Yuki!' _Hikaru grabbed his head, closed his eyes and willed himself to stop thinking about such perverse acts. "This is all Shuichi's fault!" Hikaru said through gritted teeth.

"You're funny!"

Hikaru opened his eyes and found Sakuma Ryuichi looking up at him. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"I came to play as well!" Ryuichi said cheerfully. "Shuichi can't have all the fun!"

"Shhhh!" Hikaru motioned. "Keep it down." Hikaru quickly looked around to see if anyone's attention was drawn to them, especially the reporters. It appeared that everyone was continuing on with their own business. "We don't want to attract any attention."

"Why do you think I wore the hat and sunglasses?"

"I can see the hat. But the sunglasses? You're inside. Come on." Hikaru got up and moved over to another table, one that was hidden behind a high ledge. Ryuichi followed and sat opposite him.

"Here, I brought something that will make the game more fun. Ryuichi reached inside the small bag he was carrying, that Hikaru just noticed, and he pulled out a small package. Hikaru couldn't make out what it was since Ryuichi's hands were in the way. Ryuichi ripped open the top of the package and poured the contents onto the Go board. Round, colorful pieces fell across the board. They were smaller than Go stones. Hikaru picked up the yellow piece and looked at it more carefully.

"M&M's? How will this make the game more fun?"

"We're going to use them instead of those plain black and white stones." Ryuichi smiled.

"What? You can't do that! You can't play Go with these!"

"Of course you can, silly. See?" Ryuichi collected the M&Ms and pushed them off to the side clearing the board. He began to move some of them to places on the Go board where you would normally place a stone if you were playing a move. "You play with them this way so that you can make cute things like bunny's and kitties out of colors instead of in plain colors." Ryuichi smiled from ear to ear.

Hikaru sighed. "This is how you think Go is played?" Hikaru muttered under his breath.

"Here!" Ryuichi pushed some of the candy in front of Hikaru. "You make something as well and let's see who makes a better design." Without saying a word, Hikaru began moving around the M&Ms. He felt if he protested it would be a wasted effort. ' _Whatever keeps Ryuichi happy.'_

Shuichi's Go lesson came to an end. The reporters left and once Shuichi spotted the love of his life…."YUUUUKKKKIIIIIIIIIII!" Shuichi came flying out of the small room and past everyone else. Before anyone knew it, Shuichi had attached himself to Yuki. Yuki sat there with his cigarette in his mouth having no visible reaction to being tackled. "Hey, do you mind? Get off." Yuki said somewhat nonchalant.

"Oh Yuki, I'm so happy! You actually came to see me and you never come to see me, unless you're forced by K."

"K didn't bring me here." Yuki answered. "I came here of my own will."

Shuichi's eyes grew big and tears began to form at their corners. "Yuki! Surprising me like this shows me how much you really care about me." Shuichi hugged Yuki even tighter. "You couldn't wait to see me could you? I guess your love for me is growing that you can't contain it any longer."

"I'm actually waiting for him." Yuki took his cigarette out of his mouth and disposed of it in the ashtray that was next to him, pressing it against the tray to stop the cigarette from burning. Shuichi looked up.

"Hey, bro!" Tatsuha waved happily at his older brother.

Confused, Shuichi loosened his grip on Yuki. Yuki took this opportunity to remove the rock star from him. He pushed him lightly onto the couch while he got up. "Took you long enough." Yuki said with a hint of annoyance in his voice walking towards Tatsuha.

"Sorry, I got held up. If you're all set, we can get going."

"Please., before I get a headache." Yuki lead the way to the exit.

"Akira!" Ryuichi jumped from the stairs and ran towards Akira who had just emerged from the room in which he was playing Go with Shuichi. Ryuichi slammed into Akira pushing him up against the front desk. He wrapped his arms around him. "I've missed you, Akira!" Ryuichi said joyfully while giggling to himself.

Hikaru looked just in time to see the spectacle and almost immediately he became tense.

"Mr. Sakuma…."

"No, it's Ryuichi. Call me Ryuichi."

"Ok, Ryuichi."

Hikaru hated when Ryuichi acted like this with Akira. _'Akira, push him away…'_

"Tatsuha!" Yuki said louder than usual which got everyone's attention. Tatsuha jumped himself. "Why are you just standing there? We have to go."

Hikaru noticed the odd look on Tatsuha's face, but it was gone in a flash once Tatsuha realized everyone was looking at him. "I'm coming." Tatsuha smiled and slowly headed out. Before he left he took one last look at Akira and Ryuichi.

"So, did you see?" Shuichi somehow appeared in front of Hikaru. "Yuki came to see me! I told you this Go stuff is doing wonders for our relationship!"

"What? You're crazy Shuichi!" Hikaru pushed his way past his cousin and made his way over to Akira with Ryuichi still attached to him.

"Are we still on for tonight, Toya?" Hikaru said louder than he should to interrupt the 'playfulness' that was going on in front of him.

"Shindo? Of course we are."

"Good. Because it's been too long since I played against you!" Hikaru's passion was seeping into his voice. Akira got the message loud and clear and looked at him with determination.

"All right, all right. The two of you have a date tonight." K interceded. "You don't have to announce it to the world."

"What!" Hikaru and Akira said in unison.

"It's not a date, K!" Hikaru started.

"We have a scheduled time to play Go." Akira finished while crossing his arms and looking disgruntled.

"Scheduled time, date, whatever you want to call it. I hope you guys have fun." K continued teasing.

Hikaru's temper was getting worse. Between Sakuma Ryuichi being all over Akira and K blabbing on just didn't help the young Go player.

"Well, before your date tonight, Hikaru" Shuichi came up alongside Hikaru…"You and I need to meet my father."

"It's not a date." Hikaru insisted.

"Uh, huh." Shuichi said unconvinced. Hikaru went after his cousin out the door yelling at him.

"Thanks again, Akira!" K said. "We'll be leaving now Ryuichi."

"Oooohhhh, but I want to stay with Akira!"

"Not this time. You have a meeting to go to and I don't want to hear it from Tohma how I made you late."

"Ok." Ryuichi said defeated. "I'll come by real soon and play Akira, ok?"

"Sure."

* * *

He placed the black stone ever so gently down onto the Go board adjacent to a white stone. He stopped and waited, staring at the board, waiting for the next move to be made. Akira raised his head to his would be opponent, but the chair on the other side of the board remained empty. Akira's eyes shifted to his watch. _8:32pm_. He breathed out heavily through his nose. "You're late, Shindo." Akira muttered under his breath.

Toya Akira sat at a table in his father's Go salon awaiting the arrival of his Go rival, Shindo Hikaru. The place was empty save for Akira. The salon had been closed for quite some time and got special permission from his father to use his Go salon for the evening for him and Hikaru to finally have time to meet and play Go. They had agreed to meet at 8 o'clock that evening but Hikaru still hadn't shown up. Akira decided to continue playing the game he had in front of him. He reached into the bowl with the white stones and was about to pick one up when he heard the sliding of the door of the Go salon. "It's about time, Shindo." Akira rose from his seat saying: "It took so long for us to plan this time together and now that we finally have it you show up late. I'm interested to hear why." Akira turned around since he was sitting with his back towards the door and he was shocked to see not Shindo Hikaru but Eri Yuki's brother, Tatsuha.

"Oh, hello." Akira said somewhat surprised. Tatsuha said nothing. Akira was about to say something to break the heavy silence when he suddenly noticed the look in Tatsuha's eyes. It immediately made Akira uncomfortable and he didn't understand why. He had met this young man a couple of times before and he seemed to be ok. Today, at that moment though was totally different. There was a tense air that hung around Tatsuha as he stared at the young Go player. "Is there something I can help you with?" Akira asked and was still met with silence. "T-the salon has been closed since….."

"Tell me, Akira. How long has it been going on?" Tatsuha finally spoke.

"How long has what been going on?"

"You know very well what I am referring to."

"I'm sorry I'm afraid I don't." Akira said with a little frustration in his voice.

"Is this what we're going to do, Akira?" Tatsuha said while moving into the room. "Play games?"

"I don't understand!"

"Of course you don't." Tatsuha said unconvinced as he moved closer to Akira. On instinct, Akira backed away from his approach. "Why don't we just drop all of this and get right to the point, Akira. I know what you've been doing and I know that you've been seeing him for quite some time now."

"What?"

"You've seduced him by playing Go. Clever, I never would've thought of that."

Akira picked up his pace backing away from the highly agitated, Tatsuha.

"If you would just tell me…." Akira hit the wall hard "….what this is all about!" Akira pleaded. Tatsuha slammed his hand against the wall next to Akira to prevent him from escaping. This caused Akira to jump. "He even let you call him by his first name!" Tatsuha came in close to Akira's face and examined him for a moment. "What is it about you, Akira? Hmm? What is it that Sakuma Ryuichi sees in you?" Tatsuha said in a quiet yet menacing voice.

"Sakuma Ryuichi?"

"How were you, a Go player, able to get your hands on my Ryuichi! I'd like for you to tell me, Akira!"

"Tatsu…."

"Because, NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO PUT THEIR HANDS ON SAKUMA RYUICHI, UNLESS IT'S ME!" Akira tried pushing Tatsuha away but Tatsuha took Akira's wrists and with one hand and held both his arms above his head against the wall. Akira immediately became frightened and tried to struggle when Tatsuha moved closer to Akira restraining him even further so as to prevent escape.

"W-what are you doing? Let me go!" A nervous Akira asked.

With Tatsuha's free hand he began to caress Akira's cheek. "You know, you are pretty cute." Tatsuha's hand slowly left Akira's face and moved down to his collar bone, then to his chest, then stomach.

"Stop." Akira struggled but Tatsuha was just too strong for him. He placed one of his legs in between Akira's pressing his thigh up against Akira's crotch. Akira inhaled rapidly at the sensation and became even more frightened.

Tatsuha leaned in and whispered into one of Akira's ears. "I'm now going to taste the flesh that has held Sakuma Ryuichi." Tatsuha licked the rim of Akira's ear. Akira cringed. He felt Tatsuha's hot breath against his neck as he moved down and placed his lips against the sensitive skin. He licked an area and then began sucking. Akira felt something else down below. Tatsuha was unbuckling Akira's pants with his free hand. "N-no! S-stop this!" Akira pleaded but Tatsuha didn't stop. He continued to lay his lips and tongue upon Akira's neck. He successfully undid Akira's pants. Akira struggled with all his might but found he was unable to move no matter what he did. Tatsuha's hand moved to inside Akira's pants . Akira was more frightened than he had ever been in his entire life. He felt Tatsuha's hand touch him. "AH!" Akira let out uncontrollably. _'Oh my god! Why is this happening? No matter how much I plead with him, he won't let me go. I can't get away from him. He's too strong!' _Tears began to well up in Akira's eyes. _"No! I don't want this! I want him to stop now! Somebody! Anybody! Help me! PLEASE!"_

"Is it really that good?" Tatsuha saw the tears in Akira's eyes, his flushed face. Tatsuha smiled but it was one with malice behind it. Akira felt Tatsuha's hand grip him even tighter. All the fear and anxiety was at its boiling point inside Akira when he yelled out: "SHINNNDOOOO!"

'WHAM!'

No longer was Tatsuha restraining him. Akira's arms were free. He saw several black and white Go stones flying through the air past him. It all happened in an instant. Even though he was free, Akira couldn't move. He kept staring at his savior so happy that he was rescued from his attacker. Tears continued to stream down Akira's face. His plea for help had been answered by the one he called for. Shindo Hikaru stood a few feet from Akira. He had never seen him so angry before. The look on his face, it almost didn't look like the Hikaru he knew. He was breathing heavily. Akira saw the adrenaline running through him.

"S-Shind-do?" Akira managed to get out. He noticed the Go board Hikaru held with both hands. He saw the Go stones scattered all over the floor.

"Akira!" Hikaru angrily said. "What the hell are you doing?" Hikaru was about to lose control and begin yelling when he noticed that Akira was really upset to the point that he was visibly shaking. "Akira?" Just from hearing his name Akira broke down. He covered his face and tried so hard to compose himself. "Akira!" Hikaru dropped the Go board and ran over to Akira. He put his hands on his shoulders. "What happened, Akira? Did Tatsuha hurt you?" With that question Akira grabbed hold of Hikaru. He wrapped his arms tightly around him and buried his face in his shoulder. Hikaru stood there and let Akira do what he wanted.

Akira was able to calm himself down within a few minutes. _'Hikaru, I'm so happy you're here. Just being near you like this, being able to take in your scent makes me feel more at ease.' _The tears stopped. Akira slowly removed his arms from around Hikaru. Akira began wiping away the tears from his face. Hikaru helped. This startled Akira at first, but then allowed Hikaru to continue. "Thank you." Akira got out.

"Are you ok, now?" Hikaru asked.

"Yes. Much better. I'm glad you came along when you did." Akira said as he fixed himself up. "Who knows what would've happened if you hadn't come along when you did." Akira managed a slight smile.

"Still, he hurt you didn't he, Akira? Well, I'm not done hurting him! This was only the beginning!" Hikaru said getting angry. Akira looked over at Tatsuha who was lying on the floor motionless.

"I don't know how much more you can do to him now, Hikaru." Hikaru finally looked down at Tatsuha. He was out cold.

"Tatsuha!" Hikaru yelled. "Oh come on! Stop faking it! I didn't hit you that hard with the board! Tatsuha?" Hikaru poked him and he didn't move. "AHHHHH! OH NO!"

"What?" Akira asked frantically.

"I think I killed him!" Hikaru cried out. Akira couldn't believe the absurdity of Hikaru or maybe he could. It's not like this is the first time he's jumped to insane conclusions.

"Hikaru, you didn't kill him. He's just unconscious!"

"No, I killed him! Oh my god! Do you know what this means? It means that I'll go to prison and worst of all, I'll never get to play Go with you again, Akira!" Hikaru began to cry.

"Hikaru?" Akira couldn't contain his anger any more. "Tatsuha is fine!"

"And how do you know!" Hikaru shouted back.

"He's still breathing!" Akira yelled even louder.

"Really?" Hikaru said normally.

"Yes!" Akira responded annoyed.

"Well, that's a relief. So what should we do with him?" Hikaru asked.

Akira sighed. "Do you have your cell phone?"

"Yeah, it's right here." Hikaru took it out of his pocket. Akira grabbed it and flipped it open. He went through his contacts, highlighted a specific one and handed it back to Hikaru.

"Call, him. He'll know what to do."

* * *

"Wow, he really is out cold!" K said as he examined the unconscious Tatsuha.

"But he's fine otherwise, right?" Hikaru asked feeling paranoid.

"As far as I can see. How did this happen anyway?" K looked at Hikaru & Akira.

"He was being mean to Akira, ok K?" Hikaru answered reluctantly.

K looked at both suspiciously. "So because he was being 'mean' to Akira you do this to him?" K moved on. "What was he doing here to begin with?"

"He wanted to know how I knew Sakuma Ryuichi." Akira answered. "He was under the impression that we were dating."

"You're not, are you?" Hikaru insensitively asked.

"No! I'm not. He's just a friend!" Akira snapped back at Hikaru.

"Well, that does make sense why he was here. I'm sure he threatened you about staying away from Ryuichi, am I right?"

"And more." Akira said softly but loud enough for K to hear. Memories of what happened to Akira a short time ago flashed through his mind bringing him down again.

"Well, I'll take him home." K picked up Tatsuha and flung him over his shoulder. When he turned around he saw the looks on Hikaru's face and especially Akira's face. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to have a nice, long talk with him when he wakes up." K left without another word.

* * *

Early the next morning, Hikaru was running down the street. He finally made it to the Go Salon. All he had to do was go in, hope to God it's there, grab it and leave. The door slid open. "Oh, Hikaru! I never expected to see you this early in the morning!" Ichikawa from behind the counter greeted Hikaru.

"Hikaru!"

Hikaru looked over. His face felt hot and turned red as he spotted Akira. Hikaru quickly turned away. "I-I just came by to see if I left my wallet here."

"You're wallet? Don't you have a game this morning?" Akira asked

"Yes, I do! That's why I'm here so early! Geez, Akira do you have to ask so many questions?"

"Here it is!" Ichikawa said as she handed it over to Hikaru. Hikaru snatched it out of her hand.

"Great. See ya." Hikaru quickly left the Go Salon.

"He was certainly acting more strangely than normal." Ichikawa commented. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he was nervous."

"He's probably nervous about his game." Akira responded but he knew that wasn't true. He knew the real reason for Hikaru's behavior. _'He wasn't expecting to see me so soon after last night. I guess I can't blame him. It was a little awkward for me as well. He'll just have to get used to it.' _Akira smiled to himself.

* * *

_The night before. _

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to have a nice, long talk with him when he wakes up." K said right before he left the Go Salon carrying Tatsuha.

Neither Akira nor Hikaru spoke right away after that. While they were waiting for K to show up after calling him, Hikaru cleaned up all the Go stones on the floor and placed the Go board back onto the table. Of course the Go Board had a crack on the bottom from the intense impact.

"I'm sorry I was late." Hikaru broke the silence. "If I hadn't been, this wouldn't have happened to you."

"Why were you late?" Akira asked plainly.

"I was with my uncle. Before I knew it, I'd lost track of the time. I hadn't seen him in so long, but still. I should have been here!" Hikaru started shaking and he balled his hands into fists. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"But you did help me, Hikaru. Yes, you were late but you came just in time and that's what matters."

"But he hurt you."

"And in the end you saved me. Don't beat yourself up over this, Hikaru. You did nothing wrong do you hear me?"

Hikaru reluctantly nodded his head. "I guess it's too late to play a game. I was hoping to practice against you to prepare for my game tomorrow morning."

"You'll be fine tomorrow."

Hikaru smiled at Akira. "Well, I guess we should get going." Hikaru walked past Akira. When Akira didn't move Hikaru turned around. "Akira? You coming?" Akira didn't answer and just stood still where he was. "Akira?" Hikaru walked back to Akira. "Are you all right?"

Akira didn't answer right away but then said: "Hikaru, I can't move."

"What do you mean you can't move?"

"I mean I can't walk." Akira said looking away from Hikaru.

Hikaru couldn't figure it out at first and was about to ask more questions until he noticed…

"That is because of what Tatsuha did….."

"Yes." Akira interrupted.

They both stood in silence for a few moments. Then Hikaru grabbed Akira by the arm and dragged him over and leaned him up against a wall. "Hikaru! What are you doing?"

"I'll do it for you."

"What?"

"You need….you know….to be relieved before we go, so I'll do it for you." Hikaru reached out and grabbed Akira's belt around his waist. Akira's hands grabbed Hikaru's .

"Hikaru, you don't have to do this."

"But I want to do this." Hikaru began unbuckling Akira's belt. Akira did not stop him. Hikaru unbuttoned Akira's pants and then unzipped them. Slowly, he moved his hand inside Akira's underwear and gently grabbed hold of him. Akira jerked and leaned up against the wall to brace himself. Hikaru began moving his hand up then down. Akira closed his eyes. Hikaru continued at the same pace for a little while, continually watching Akira's reactions. Hikaru freed Akira from his pants and began using both hands to pleasure Akira. "AH! MM!" Hikaru began to massage the tip and got an even greater response from Akira. Hikaru liked this. He wanted to go further. Hikaru knelt down and began to lick the hot, pulsing member. "Ohhhh….Ahh….Hikaru…." Hearing his name being called prompted him to take things further. Hikaru opened his mouth and took in as much as he could of Akira. This got him the best reaction out of Akira yet. "Oh…God…..Ahh!" Akira grabbed hold of Hikaru's hair. Weak from the intense pleasure he was feeling, his knees gave out and he fell slowly to the floor. Hikaru followed him down. He continued to have Akira inside his mouth, sucking and licking. He did whatever he could to hear more intense moans of pleasure. As Akira fell to the floor, he landed on Hikaru's backpack causing his wallet to fall out.


End file.
